Latest news with #TeruyoshiOta
Kyodo News
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Kyodo News
High court orders Tokyo gov't, state to compensate for illicit probe
KYODO NEWS - 6 hours ago - 19:37 | All, Japan A Japanese high court on Wednesday ordered the Tokyo metropolitan government and the state to compensate a company president and others for an unlawful investigation into the alleged unauthorized export of goods capable of producing biological weapons. The Tokyo High Court ruled the investigation on Masaaki Okawara, 76, president of machinery maker Ohkawara Kakohki Co., and two other men was illegal. "There is a fundamental flaw in the decision to build a case," and the decision was made "without reasonable grounds," Presiding Judge Teruyoshi Ota said. The court ordered the state and Tokyo to pay about 166 million yen ($1.15 million) in compensation, up about 4 million yen from the amount awarded by the lower court. Police did not conduct a further investigation even after they heard from the company side that the exported items were not subject to trade restrictions, skipping a process typically required when new information emerges, the ruling said. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which oversees export activities, told police there was a problem with their legal interpretation of export control rules banning shipments of equipment capable of producing biological agents, but the police did not revisit their decision to arrest the plaintiffs, according to the ruling. Tsuyoshi Takada, a lawyer representing the company, said the ruling acknowledged that the case was "fabricated" by the police. A Tokyo police investigator testified at the lower court that the case was "fabricated," and a former investigator told the high court that people with discretion built the case "out of greed." The plaintiffs had appealed the Tokyo District Court ruling that awarded the compensation to Okawara, Junji Shimada, a former director of the company, and the family of former adviser Shizuo Aishima, who died in 2021 after falling ill during detainment, insisting court findings on the maliciousness of the investigation by police and prosecutors were insufficient. The state and the metropolitan government had also appealed, arguing their investigation was legal and seeking a rejection of the plaintiffs' appeal. The Metropolitan Police Department said it will decide on its response after thoroughly examining the latest ruling. Prosecutors withdrew the indictment in July 2021, but Aishima died due to stomach cancer at age 72 in February of that year before redeeming his honor. The plaintiffs sought 560 million yen in damages in the lawsuit filed in September 2021, claiming the items in question -- spray dryers that can atomize liquids and turn them into powder through a quick drying process -- were not subject to export restrictions. The Yokohama-based firm is Japan's leading maker of spray dryers, widely used to produce food products such as instant coffee, baby formula, medicine and ceramics. The three men were arrested in March 2020 on suspicion of exporting spray dryers capable of producing biological agents without authorization. Okawara and Shimada spent 332 days in custody until they were released on bail in February 2021. Related coverage: Japan government appeals ruling on compensation for illegal investigation Tokyo gov't, state ordered to compensate for illegal investigation Execs accused of illegally exporting bioweapon equipment sue gov't
Kyodo News
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Kyodo News
High court orders Tokyo gov't, state to compensate for illicit probe
KYODO NEWS - 36 minutes ago - 19:37 | All, Japan A Japanese high court on Wednesday ordered the Tokyo metropolitan government and the state to compensate a company president and others for an unlawful investigation into the alleged unauthorized export of goods capable of producing biological weapons. The Tokyo High Court ruled the investigation on Masaaki Okawara, 76, president of machinery maker Ohkawara Kakohki Co., and two other men was illegal. "There is a fundamental flaw in the decision to build a case," and the decision was made "without reasonable grounds," Presiding Judge Teruyoshi Ota said. The court ordered the state and Tokyo to pay about 166 million yen ($1.15 million) in compensation, up about 4 million yen from the amount awarded by the lower court. Police did not conduct a further investigation even after they heard from the company side that the exported items were not subject to trade restrictions, skipping a process typically required when new information emerges, the ruling said. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which oversees export activities, told police there was a problem with their legal interpretation of export control rules banning shipments of equipment capable of producing biological agents, but the police did not revisit their decision to arrest the plaintiffs, according to the ruling. Tsuyoshi Takada, a lawyer representing the company, said the ruling acknowledged that the case was "fabricated" by the police. A Tokyo police investigator testified at the lower court that the case was "fabricated," and a former investigator told the high court that people with discretion built the case "out of greed." The plaintiffs had appealed the Tokyo District Court ruling that awarded the compensation to Okawara, Junji Shimada, a former director of the company, and the family of former adviser Shizuo Aishima, who died in 2021 after falling ill during detainment, insisting court findings on the maliciousness of the investigation by police and prosecutors were insufficient. The state and the metropolitan government had also appealed, arguing their investigation was legal and seeking a rejection of the plaintiffs' appeal. The Metropolitan Police Department said it will decide on its response after thoroughly examining the latest ruling. Prosecutors withdrew the indictment in July 2021, but Aishima died due to stomach cancer at age 72 in February of that year before redeeming his honor. The plaintiffs sought 560 million yen in damages in the lawsuit filed in September 2021, claiming the items in question -- spray dryers that can atomize liquids and turn them into powder through a quick drying process -- were not subject to export restrictions. The Yokohama-based firm is Japan's leading maker of spray dryers, widely used to produce food products such as instant coffee, baby formula, medicine and ceramics. The three men were arrested in March 2020 on suspicion of exporting spray dryers capable of producing biological agents without authorization. Okawara and Shimada spent 332 days in custody until they were released on bail in February 2021. Related coverage: Japan government appeals ruling on compensation for illegal investigation Tokyo gov't, state ordered to compensate for illegal investigation Execs accused of illegally exporting bioweapon equipment sue gov't
Yomiuri Shimbun
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
High Court Orders Japan, Tokyo Govts to Compensate over Probe
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo The Tokyo District Court and Tokyo High Court Tokyo, May 28 (Jiji Press)—Tokyo High Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling ordering the Japanese and Tokyo metropolitan governments to pay about ¥166 million in damages over investigations into a case against spray-dryer maker Ohkawara Kakohki Co. Teruyoshi Ota, presiding judge at the high court, backed the December 2023 ruling by Tokyo District Court that found the investigations by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office into the company over its alleged improper exports illegal. The plaintiffs are the company based in Yokohama, near Tokyo, CEO Masaaki Okawara, 76, former executive Junji Shimada, 72, and the family of former adviser Shizuo Aishima, who died at the age of 72 in February 2021 after being found to have stomach cancer while being detained. In 2020, Okawara, Shimada and Aishima were indicted on charges of illegally exporting a spray dryer that might be repurposed to make biological weapons.. The charges were withdrawn the following year. In the trial at the high court, the company side argued that the police had the industry ministry distort its interpretation of export control standards, citing as new evidence memos of the investigations and testimonies by investigators. The central and Tokyo metropolitan governments claimed that the authorities had investigated the case according to the interpretation of the ministry from the beginning and that there was nothing unreasonable in their judgments, including the indictments against the three.
28-05-2025
- Business
High Court Orders Japan, Tokyo Govts to Compensate over Probe
Tokyo, May 28 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo High Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling ordering the Japanese and Tokyo metropolitan governments to pay about 166 million yen in damages over investigations into a case against spray-dryer maker Ohkawara Kakohki Co. Teruyoshi Ota, presiding judge at the high court, backed the December 2023 ruling by Tokyo District Court that found the investigations by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office into the company over its alleged improper exports illegal. The plaintiffs are the company based in Yokohama, near Tokyo, CEO Masaaki Okawara, 76, former executive Junji Shimada, 72, and the family of former adviser Shizuo Aishima, who died at the age of 72 in February 2021 after being found to have stomach cancer while being detained. In 2020, Okawara, Shimada and Aishima were indicted on charges of illegally exporting a spray dryer that might be repurposed to make biological weapons. The charges were withdrawn the following year. In the trial at the high court, the company side argued that the police had the industry ministry distort its interpretation of export control standards, citing as new evidence memos of the investigations and testimonies by investigators. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
