Tokyo Joe

Ex-Colonel Joe Barrett returns to Tokyo after World War II and checks his old bar, Tokyo Joe's, now run by his old friend Ito. Ito confirms the place is mostly intact and functioning. Joe learns that his wife Trina is alive, having divorced him, and is now married to Mark Landis with a seven-year-old daughter named Anya.

To stay in Japan after his visitor's permit expires, Joe wants to set up an airline freight franchise and needs financial backing. He begins seeking investors and considering the steps required to launch the business before the deadline. The goal is to establish a foothold in postwar commerce while he rebuilds his life.

Ito introduces Baron Kimura, former head of the Japanese secret police, who offers to finance the new airline. Joe suspects Kimura may use the venture as a front for other, potentially dangerous activities. The arrangement promises money, but with a heavy sense of risk.

Kimura provides Joe with excerpts from Japanese secret police files showing Trina conducted propaganda broadcasts during the war. Joe confronts Trina with the evidence, forcing her to explain the context and her actions. The revelation threatens to derail Joe's new plans and his personal life.

Trina explains she broadcast to protect her newborn when she was imprisoned, insisting it was a sacrifice rather than treason. She also reveals that Anya is Joe's daughter, a fact that changes Joe's understanding of his past and his present obligations. The confession deepens the personal stakes of the unfolding crisis.

Joe initially wants to back away from Kimura's plan, but Kimura presses him to proceed. To protect Trina and keep his family intact, Joe agrees to the airline venture and convinces Mark Landis to help launch the business before his visa expires. The decision commits him to a dangerous path.

Joe learns from American occupation authorities that Kimura intends to smuggle fugitive war criminals into Japan to ignite a hidden anti-American movement. The authorities plan to arrest the fugitives when they land at Haneda, but Kimura discovers Joe's engagement with the Americans. The conspiracy tightens around Joe and his new venture.

Kimura informs Joe that Anya has been kidnapped and will be freed only if the Japanese are delivered by a deadline. Desperate to save his daughter, Joe decides to press forward, flying with passengers and aiming to land at the Army-designated airfield. The clock tightens as the plan moves toward execution.

As Joe's plane heads toward the Army airfield, the Japanese hijack the aircraft with guns and force land at a different airstrip in Okuma. The US Army rapidly closes in, prepared to intervene and prevent a broader crisis. The hijack dramatically disrupts Joe's fragile plan.

Back at the bar, Ito, mortally wounded, reveals that Anya is being kept in a basement beneath the old hotel next door. Joe realizes where he must go and prepares to move quickly to rescue her. The revelation adds urgency to the already tense situation.

Joe descends into the dark basement and finds Anya, preparing to carry her to safety. He is shot by Kimura as he tries to get Anya out, a brutal interruption to the rescue. The moment underscores the mortal stakes of the confrontation.

American soldiers arrive and kill Kimura, ending his threat. Joe, severely wounded, is carried out on a stretcher as the immediate danger passes and the rescue concludes. The film closes with Joe's life hanging in the balance and the war's shadows finally receding.