Japan Apologizes for Wrongful Arrest and Death of Businessman

Two years ago, in August 2023, Japan's top law enforcement officials visited the family of Shizuo Aishima, a former advisor to a machinery firm, to offer a sincere apology. Aishima was one of three company executives who had been illegally held in pretrial detention for months on charges that were later dropped.

The officials, including the deputy superintendent-general of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, acknowledged the wrongful investigation and arrest, stating, "We sincerely apologize for conducting the illegal investigation and arrest." However, Aishima's wife said she could not forgive the authorities, despite accepting the apology.

The three men were initially detained and indicted in March 2020 on charges of illegally exporting spray dryers that could be used to produce biological weapons. They argued that the exports were legal, but prosecutors kept Aishima detained, even after he was diagnosed with progressive cancer in October 2020. Aishima was admitted to the hospital a month later and died the following February, without being able to see his two colleagues, who had been released on the condition that they would not meet with him.

Human rights campaigners have long demanded an end to Japan's "hostage justice" practice, where investigators use lengthy pretrial detentions to coerce confessions. The Tokyo High Court later found that the investigation, arrests, and indictment were illegal and not supported by evidence. The family's lawyer stated that the men's detention, which was authorized several times in court, "was not the mistake of a single judge," and that the courts must learn from this case to prevent future victims of this unjust system.