Japanese police, prosecutors apologise at grave of wrongfully accused man
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YOKOHAMA – Tokyo police and prosecutors on Aug 25 apologised at the grave of a man who was wrongfully accused of the unauthorised export of sensitive equipment and died without being granted bail.
They made the apology at the gravesite of Mr Shizuo Aishima, a former adviser to machinery maker Ohkawara Kakohki, in Yokohama, with members of his family present.
The apology came after the police released a report earlier in August concluding that dysfunction in the investigative chain of command led to the wrongful arrests of Mr Aishima and two others.
“We are sorry for the illegal investigation and arrest,” said Deputy Superintendent General of the Metropolitan Police Department Tetsuro Kamata.
When representatives of the police and the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office apologised in June
The family’s lawyer instead handed the officials a letter stating that they “cannot accept an apology under the current circumstances”.
Mr Okawara, Mr Shimada and Mr Aishima were arrested and indicted between March and June 2020 on suspicion of the unauthorised export of spray dryers capable of producing biological agents.
Mr Aishima died in February 2021 at the age of 72 after a fight with stomach cancer, which was discovered while he was in detention.
He had filed eight bail requests, but all were denied, though he was eventually allowed to leave detention to receive treatment.
The prosecutors withdrew the indictments for Mr Aishima’s co-accused, Mr Okawara and Mr Shimada, in July 2021 when it was determined that “doubts have arisen as to whether they are guilty of a crime”.
The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office said in its review that it “should deeply regret” that the bail applications could have been handled with more understanding.
In September 2021, the company based in Yokohama filed a damages suit against the Tokyo metropolitan government and the state.
A Tokyo High Court ruling in May concluded that the arrests and indictments of the three men were illegal and ordered the metropolitan government and the state to pay 166 million yen (S$1.44 million) in damages. KYODO NEWS
