Japan’s top law enforcement officials have issued a rare public apology to the family of businessman Shizuo Aishima, who died after being wrongfully arrested and detained for months under the country’s controversial “hostage justice” system.
Aishima, a former advisor to machinery firm Ohkawara Kakohki, was one of three executives held in prolonged pretrial detention in 2020 on charges that were later dismissed. The men were accused of illegally exporting spray dryers allegedly usable in producing biological weapons a claim they denied, maintaining the exports were lawful.
On Monday, senior officials from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, the public prosecutor’s department, and the Tokyo prosecutor’s office visited Aishima’s family and grave to offer their apologies.
“We sincerely apologise for conducting the illegal investigation and arrest,” said Tetsuro Kamata, deputy superintendent-general of Tokyo police, in a televised meeting with the family.
Aishima’s wife responded: “I accept the apology but I won’t be able to forgive.”
The businessman’s ordeal began in March 2020 when he and two colleagues were detained and indicted. In October that year, he was diagnosed with progressive cancer, but prosecutors insisted on keeping him in custody, claiming he might destroy evidence. Despite his condition, he was only moved to a hospital a month later.
While his colleagues were released in February 2021 under the condition that they not meet with Aishima, he died later that same month without seeing them again. Prosecutors eventually dropped all charges, prompting lawsuits from his family and colleagues.
The Tokyo High Court later ruled that the investigation, arrests, and indictment were illegal and unsupported by evidence.
At a press conference, the family’s lawyer Tsuyoshi Takada criticised the judiciary for enabling the wrongful detention:
“This was not the mistake of a single judge. We need to change the mistaken attitudes of all judges. The court must learn from this and think about what they can do so that there won’t be more victims of ‘hostage justice’ in the future.”
The case has renewed pressure on Japan to reform its pretrial detention system, which human rights groups say is routinely abused to coerce confessions.
