Japan Police Apologise For Wrongful Arrest And Death Of Businessman

Senior officials of Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police and the Prosecutor’s Office have issued a formal apology at the gravesite of Shizuo Aishima, a businessman who died in custody after being wrongfully arrested.

Aishima, a former advisor to machinery firm Ohkawara Kakohki Co., was arrested in 2020 on allegations of unauthorized export of spray-drying machines. While in detention, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Despite repeated bail applications, all were denied, and he died in February 2021 without receiving timely medical care.

At the cemetery in Yokohama, Deputy Superintendent-General Tetsuro Kamata expressed deep regret for the unlawful investigation and arrest. Senior representatives from the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office also apologized, acknowledging serious human rights violations and failures in handling bail requests.

Earlier in June, police and prosecutors had extended apologies to the company’s president and a former executive after a court ruled their arrests unlawful. However, Aishima’s family had initially refused to accept such apologies. This graveside apology marked the first time his relatives agreed to hear it. Even so, his widow, while accepting the apology, declared she would “never forgive” the wrongful actions that led to her husband’s death.

The Tokyo High Court has since ordered the state and the metropolitan government to pay around 166 million yen (approximately \$1.13 million) in compensation. The authorities admitted to systemic failures, including inadequate review of exonerating evidence and mismanagement within the investigative process.