Latest news with #Kamata
Kyodo News
12 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Police, prosecutors apologize to 2 men over illicit probe
KYODO NEWS - 2 hours ago - 20:13 | All, Japan Tokyo police and prosecutors on Friday apologized in person to two men over their wrongful arrest and indictment in 2020 in a case involving the suspected unauthorized export of sensitive equipment. The apology comes after the finalization last week of a Tokyo High Court ruling that ordered the metropolitan government and state to compensate Masaaki Okawara, president of Ohkawara Kakohki Co., and Junji Shimada, one of the company's former directors. Tetsuro Kamata, deputy superintendent general of the Metropolitan Police Department, and Hirohide Mori, head of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office's public security bureau, apologized for the stress the men had to undergo due to the investigation during a visit to the head office of the Yokohama-based machinery maker. Okawara, 76, who was detained for nearly a year, said in response, "It would have been better if the apology had come much earlier." The family of Shizuo Aishima, a former adviser to the company who died in February 2021 at age 72 after falling ill during detention, was not present during the meeting. In a statement issued through their lawyer, the family said they "cannot accept an apology under the current circumstances." During the meeting, Kamata mistakenly called Shimada, 72, "Yamamoto," while Mori also referred to the company by the wrong name. Kamata told reporters afterward that authorities failed to thoroughly investigate the case, which involved the export of spray-drying apparatus that investigators suspected could be used in the process of making biological weapons. "We will review (the case) carefully without preconceptions," he said. The company has been seeking a third-party review of the investigation, but the police and prosecutors have expressed reluctance to accept such a probe. Okawara, Shimada and Aishima were arrested and indicted between March and June 2020 on suspicion of exporting spray dryers capable of producing biological agents without authorization. But the prosecutors withdrew the indictment in July 2021. In late May, the Tokyo High Court ruled the investigation of the three men was illegal and ordered the metropolitan government and state to pay about 166 million yen ($1.14 million) in damages to the plaintiffs. Related coverage: Compensation by Tokyo gov't, state finalized over illicit probe High court orders Tokyo gov't, state to compensate for illicit probe
Kyodo News
14 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Police, prosecutors apologize to 2 men over illicit probe
KYODO NEWS - 3 minutes ago - 20:13 | All, Japan Tokyo police and prosecutors on Friday apologized in person to two men over their wrongful arrest and indictment in 2020 in a case involving the suspected unauthorized export of sensitive equipment. The apology comes after the finalization last week of a Tokyo High Court ruling that ordered the metropolitan government and state to compensate Masaaki Okawara, president of Ohkawara Kakohki Co., and Junji Shimada, one of the company's former directors. Tetsuro Kamata, deputy superintendent general of the Metropolitan Police Department, and Hirohide Mori, head of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office's public security bureau, apologized for the stress the men had to undergo due to the investigation during a visit to the head office of the Yokohama-based machinery maker. Okawara, 76, who was detained for nearly a year, said in response, "It would have been better if the apology had come much earlier." The family of Shizuo Aishima, a former adviser to the company who died in February 2021 at age 72 after falling ill during detention, was not present during the meeting. In a statement issued through their lawyer, the family said they "cannot accept an apology under the current circumstances." During the meeting, Kamata mistakenly called Shimada, 72, "Yamamoto," while Mori also referred to the company by the wrong name. Kamata told reporters afterward that authorities failed to thoroughly investigate the case, which involved the export of spray-drying apparatus that investigators suspected could be used in the process of making biological weapons. "We will review (the case) carefully without preconceptions," he said. The company has been seeking a third-party review of the investigation, but the police and prosecutors have expressed reluctance to accept such a probe. Okawara, Shimada and Aishima were arrested and indicted between March and June 2020 on suspicion of exporting spray dryers capable of producing biological agents without authorization. But the prosecutors withdrew the indictment in July 2021. In late May, the Tokyo High Court ruled the investigation of the three men was illegal and ordered the metropolitan government and state to pay about 166 million yen ($1.14 million) in damages to the plaintiffs. Related coverage: Compensation by Tokyo gov't, state finalized over illicit probe High court orders Tokyo gov't, state to compensate for illicit probe
03-06-2025
- Lifestyle
Kan2ya: A Direct Descendant of Yokohama's Original 'Iekei' Ramen in Kamata
The Ever-Evolving Culture of Ramen Yokohama's iekei take on ramen is increasingly popular across Japan nowadays. With its robust soy/pork stock flavor and its endless options for fine-tuning your bowl to your liking, Kamata's Kan2ya—a direct sister shop to the famed Yoshimuraya in Yokohama—is an ideal place to sample the iekei style. The pleasure of iekei or 'house style' ramen is the opportunity to customize it to your tastes. At Kan2ya (pronounced 'Kanniya'), you are free to choose the firmness of the noodles, the richness of the broth, and the amount of fat topping. There are also a variety of additions like garlic, shredded ginger, tōbanjan spicy miso, or vinegar you can use to adjust the flavor to suit your mood. And, of course, you mustn't forget the rice. Wrapping a bite of rice in broth-soaked seaweed is simply joyful, and eating that rice along with spinach or char siu pork topping from the bowl is the pinnacle of satisfaction. Address: 7-1-10 Nishi Kamata, Ōta, Tokyo Official website: (Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: Char Siu Men at Kan2ya. ¥1,100. © Yamakawa Daisuke.)
Asahi Shimbun
20-05-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
VOX POPULI: Let no worker be treated like a 'replaceable component'
From the autumn of 1972, freelance journalist Satoshi Kamata worked undercover for six months as a seasonal laborer at a Toyota Motor Corp. plant to write a report. The factory's conveyor belt system started operating at 6 a.m. and parts came down the assembly line every 80 seconds—too fast for Kamata to keep up with, no matter how frantically he wielded his hammer. Kamata recorded the brutal working conditions in 'Jidosha Zetsubo Kojo' (literally, 'auto plant of despair'), a tour de force with powerful language and vivid descriptions that still grab the reader more than half a century after its publication. For example, there is a scene where an exhausted Kamata returns from work to his shared dorm room and mulls over what it means to be a worker: 'A worker is not even a machine ... He is just a component that's cheaper than a machine and easily replaceable.' How about present-day workers? As a matter of fact, the criteria by which a person is legally recognized as a worker has remained unchanged since 1985. When I heard that the labor ministry established a panel of experts this month to review the criteria, I was surprised to realize that the matter had not even been addressed at all for 40 years. The review has to do with so-called 'platform workers'—defined as those who earn a living by performing work through online platforms. Under the current criteria, an individual will be recognized as a worker only if they are under the direct supervision of their employer. But it is unclear whether this applies to platform workers, such as Uber Eats and Amazon delivery personnel, who are 'formally' self-employed but also use platform apps to follow AI-generated or algorithm-generated instructions regarding their delivery routes. What matters in this era of diverse working styles is that every worker be allowed to speak out and receive protection when necessary. If not, workers of the digital era will become 'replaceable components' in the 'plants of despair.' —The Asahi Shimbun, May 20 * * * Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Tokyo Reported
16-05-2025
- Tokyo Reported
Ex-Tokushima kindergarten employee suspected of making and selling child pornography
OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a 38-year-old former employee at a kindergarten in Tokushima Prefecture for taking videos of naked boys in the changing room of a lodging facility in Kagawa Prefecture for the purpose of selling them, reports Kyodo News (May 13). Between February to November last year, Hiroki Kamata allegedly took nude videos of three boys, ages 9 to 14 and living in Kyoto, Osaka and Okayama prefectures at the time, in the changing room of a lodging facility in Kagawa Prefecture from for the purpose of selling them. Upon his arrest on suspicion of violating the Child Prostitution and Pornography Prohibition Law, Kamata admitted to the allegations. 'I made 3 million yen over five years,' he said. During the investigation, police seized 25 SD cards containing videos of boys from the suspect's home. The investigation is ongoing as police believe that several thousand boys were victimized. The videos mainly show boys believed to be elementary school students. The suspect sold the videos on social media for between 5,000 and 30,000 yen. At least 600 people purchased them. In July of last year, police arrested a second man for taking tosatsu (secretly recorded) videos at a hot spring facility in Osaka City. It was discovered that the suspect had purchased the videos from the second man. In January of this year, police searched Kamata's home in Mima City, Tokushima and seized a total of 102 items, including a tablet computer. On February 6, Mima City dismissed Kamata from his post.
