Photo/Illutration A man who lost his wife and daughter in a traffic accident speaks at a news conference in Tokyo’s Kasumigaseki district on Nov. 12. (Yuko Kawasaki)

Police on Nov. 12 recommended “severe punishment” in papers sent to prosecutors against an 88-year-old man accused of killing two and injuring nine in a traffic accident in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district in April.

It is now up to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office to decide whether to indict Kozo Iizuka, a former senior bureaucrat at the industry ministry, on charges of negligent driving resulting in injury and death.

According to the traffic investigation division of the Metropolitan Police Department, Iizuka drove through a red light at a pedestrian crossing in the Ikebukuro district of Toshima Ward around noon on April 19, running over and killing Mana Matsunaga, 31, and her daughter, Riko, 3, who were on a bicycle.

The car did not slow down and ended up knocking over a garbage truck, hitting other pedestrians and crashing into another truck at a different pedestrian crossing, according to police.

Those injured included a 2-year-old and a person over 90 years old.

Police said that before the car hit the mother and daughter, it was swerving to avoid other vehicles and hit a curbstone.

Investigators believe that Iizuka had accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake as he became upset when he hit the curbstone.

During questioning, Iizuka repeatedly said that his brakes were not working at the time. However, investigators found no abnormalities in the car to indicate the brakes were faulty.

Their recommendation for “severe punishment” was included in an opinion attached to the papers sent to prosecutors.

Iizuka, a resident of Tokyo’s Itabashi Ward, once headed the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology under what was then the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

The man whose wife and daughter were killed in the accident held a news conference in Tokyo on Nov. 12 and expressed relief that the case had moved forward.

“I was finally able to reach the starting point,” the 33-year-old said.

He tearfully reflected on his “days of struggle” in the seven months since the incident, and talked about his determination to seek harsh punishment and measures to prevent a recurrence.

“I wondered how I could move forward. If I became trapped with feelings of hatred, my wife and daughter might be sad,” he said. “So I tried to fill my heart with my love and appreciation toward them.”

He added that he was greatly encouraged by the many letters of support that he received as well as the nearly 400,000 signatures on petitions calling for severe punishment against Iizuka.

(This article was written by Yuko Kawasaki and Chihaya Inagaki.)