Police apologise at grave of wrongfully accused businessman

The Japanese authorities leaned and potentially offered flowers in the grave of a businessman to apologize for incorrectly charging it from exporting sensitive industrial machines.

Shizuo Aishima and three other executives were arrested for illegal exports in March 2020. In February 2021, he died of stomach cancer five months before the indictments were deducted.

His family was in his grave in Yokohama on Monday to accept the apology. However, his wife said he could not forgive what was behind the accusation.

Aishima’s company filed a lawsuit for damage before a Tokyo court in September 2021, which decided that the indictments were illegal and ordered compensation of 166 million yen ($ 1.12 million; £ 835,000).

Fees are caused by Ohkawara Kakohki’s spray dryer exports, a machine that can powder fluids and can be used in the army.

The company said that its business is not within the scope of export restrictions. Prosecutors withdrew the indictments in July 2021, referring to “doubts” for the crime of the defendants.

Prosecutor Hiroshi Ichikawa said, “We sincerely apologize for the serious violation of human rights caused by demanding an illegal arrest and prosecution, and we have deprived Aishima for deprived of medical treatment opportunities.” He said.

Aishima demanded eight bails, all of them rejected.

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Tokyo Region Public Prosecutors Office did not object to the court decision that ordered compensation payments. The decision was the final in the last June 11.

They also investigated the reason for the wrong indictment. However, the families of the wrong defendants said that they could not determine the real cause of the mistake and that the proposed penalties were very light.