POLICE APOLOGIZE AT GRAVE OF JAPANESE BUSINESSMAN WRONGFULLY DETAINED AND DECEASED. (PHOTO).

Police apologize at grave of Japanese businessman wrongfully detained and deceased

Japan’s top law enforcement officials publicly apologized to the family of a businessman who died after being wrongfully detained for months.

Shizuo Aishima, a former adviser to machinery company Ohkawara Kakohki, was among three executives held in pretrial detention on charges that were later dropped. Human rights advocates have criticized Japan’s “hostage justice” system, in which prolonged detentions are used to pressure confessions.

On Monday, senior officials from the Tokyo police and the city’s prosecutor’s offices visited Aishima’s family and grave, kneeling and praying in a formal apology. “We sincerely apologize for conducting the illegal investigation and arrest,” said Tetsuro Kamata, deputy superintendent-general of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Aishima’s wife responded, “I accept the apology, but I won’t be able to forgive.”

The three executives were detained in March 2020 over allegations they had illegally exported spray dryers capable of producing biological weapons, which they argued were legal exports. Aishima was diagnosed with progressive cancer in October 2020, yet prosecutors kept him detained, citing concerns he could destroy evidence. He was hospitalized a month later and died in February 2021. His two colleagues were released on the condition that they could not meet him before his death.

Prosecutors ultimately dropped the charges, and Aishima’s family and colleagues sued the authorities. Earlier, Tokyo police and prosecutors had issued apologies to the company and others, admitting the investigation had violated fundamental investigative principles and suffered from a dysfunctional chain of command. A Tokyo High Court later ruled that the arrests and indictment were illegal and unsupported by evidence.

The family’s lawyer stressed that the fault was not just with individual judges, calling for broader reform to prevent future abuses under Japan’s “hostage justice” system. Aishima’s eldest son said the apology acknowledged wrongdoing but called for a new investigation, expressing mixed feelings about the officials’ statements.