Photo/Illutration From left, Takashi Koike, director of public security at the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, Hiroshi Ichikawa, deputy chief prosecutor at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, and Tetsuro Kamata, deputy superintendent general of the Metropolitan Police Department, visit the grave of Shizuo Aishima in Yokohama on Aug. 25. (Pool)

YOKOHAMA--The son of a falsely accused man who died as a defendant called on senior police officials and prosecutors to reopen their reviews of the case and reconsider disciplinary measures against those involved.

Senior officials from Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department, the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office and the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office apologized to the family of Shizuo Aishima, a former adviser to Ohkawara Kakohki Co., on Aug. 25.

They visited Aishima’s grave in Yokohama earlier that day with members of his family present. 

In 2020, President Masaaki Okawara, director Junji Shimada and Aishima were arrested and indicted for allegedly exporting equipment with potential military applications in violation of the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law.

Aishima was diagnosed with cancer while in detention. His lawyers repeatedly demanded his release on bail, but all the requests were denied. He died in 2021 at the age of 72.

“We deeply apologize for conducting an unlawful investigation and arrest,” said Tetsuro Kamata, the MPD’s deputy superintendent general. “We are also truly sorry for the immense distress we caused to the bereaved family.”

Hiroshi Ichikawa, deputy chief prosecutor at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, said, “The unlawful requests for detention and prosecution resulted in a serious human rights violation. We offer our deepest apologies.”

Speaking about the apologies, Aishima’s eldest son said, “I take them as a step forward, as they acknowledged the unlawfulness of the arrest, detention requests and prosecution.”

But he also stated, “I cannot accept the findings of your reviews and the disciplinary actions taken. I request a reinvestigation and reconsideration of the disciplinary measures.”

The MPD, the National Police Agency and the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office released the results of their reviews regarding the investigation and bail procedures on Aug. 7.

The MPD concluded that the chain of command within the Public Security Bureau had failed to function properly, leading to “major errors,” such as the unlawful arrests.

The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office acknowledged that prosecutors failed to properly assess evidence that reduced the suspicion of the defendants’ guilt at the time of indictments and that the continued opposition to bail requests was “inappropriate.”

Aishima developed anemia in September 2020 while he was detained at the Tokyo Detention House.

He asked for bail to receive treatment at an outside hospital, but the request was denied. He underwent an endoscopic examination at the facility and was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in October.

Despite repeated bail requests from Aishima’s lawyers, prosecutors argued that there was a risk of evidence destruction if he was released, and the court continued to reject the petitions.

Aishima was temporarily released from detention and died of stomach cancer in February 2021. In total, eight bail requests had been submitted.

In July 2021, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office dropped the charges against Okawara and Shimada, acknowledging the possibility that the exports were not illegal.

Okawara, Shimada and Aishima’s family filed a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court, seeking damages from the government and the MPD on the grounds that the arrests and detention were unlawful, in September of the same year.

In May this year, the Tokyo High Court recognized the illegality of the arrests and prosecution and ordered the central and metropolitan governments to pay about 166 million yen ($1 million) in damages.

The following month, senior officials from the MPD and the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office visited the Yokohama head office of Ohkawara Kakohki to apologize to Okawara and Shimada.

However, Aishima’s family declined to attend the meeting. It said, “We cannot accept the apology because we have not received any explanation of what the truth was.”

(This article was written by Hiraku Higa and Yuri Nishida.)

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