The head of the Tokyo metropolitan police has apologized after three men were wrongfully charged.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Superintendent General Sakoda Yuji held a rare news conference on Thursday. The department also released a report on a series of investigations into the case.
Sakoda’s apology came after three executives of the Yokohama-based Japanese chemical machinery manufacturer Ohkawara Kakohki were declared innocent.
Tokyo police arrested the three in 2020 for allegedly exporting illegally to China and elsewhere machinery that could be converted for military use.
Although they had been indicted, prosecutors later dropped the charges in a rare move, and the three men were declared innocent. One of them died of cancer that was detected while he was in detention.
The man’s bereaved family and the two other executives sued the central and Tokyo governments, claiming that they suffered greatly due to the illegal investigations. In May, the Tokyo High Court ordered the governments to pay over 166 million yen, or about 1.12 million dollars, in damages to the plaintiffs, and the ruling was finalized.
The decision prompted the Tokyo police to establish a team led by the deputy head of the department to examine a series of investigations into the case, and to publish a report.
The report says that the chain of command, including the head of the Public Security Bureau, failed to function as it should have, which led to a serious mistake.
The superintendent general said during the news conference that the police in the case lacked proper investigation principles, and that they are reflecting sincerely on their actions.
The investigation into the incident was reportedly led mainly by two officials from the Public Security Bureau. The report says that while these two actively pursued the case, they failed to heed the cautious views of other investigators, and that this led to the loss of an opportunity to reconsider the direction of their probe.
The report also says that updates on the investigation to senior officials of the Public Security Bureau became a mere formality, and that no substantive command over the investigation was in place.
Sakoda offered an apology, saying that he would like to once again express his deepest regrets for the huge burden of mental distress caused to the three arrested individuals and to others involved.
Based on the results of the examination, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department says it plans to take disciplinary measures or equivalent actions on Thursday against the current and former senior officials involved, including retirees.
AloJapan.com