Overview

• Tokyo Metropolitan Police and senior prosecutors apologized at the grave of former adviser Shizuo Aijima in the Okawara wrongful-prosecution case, while his family rejected closure and called for re-investigation and tougher discipline.
• Deputy Prosecutor General Hirofumi Yamamoto said the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office is not considering a re-examination or new sanctions, after an August 7 verification report acknowledged failures but imposed no disciplinary action.
• The May Tokyo High Court ruling that found the Metropolitan Police Public Security Bureau and Tokyo prosecutors conducted an illegal investigation underpins the latest apologies and the family’s demands.
• Osaka District prosecutors indicted two Osaka Prefectural Police officers on charges of special public officer assault and cruelty over violence during a house search, as authorities probe whether other officers were involved.
• In the Kobe apartment killing, investigators say security video indicates the victim was trailed for about 50 minutes, the suspect had planned to stay locally, obtained a Shinkansen ticket in July, fled by train after the crime, and was arrested in Tokyo’s Okutama on August 22; separately, a Tohoku Shinkansen train made an emergency stop on August 24 with no injuries as JR East investigates the cause after nearly three hours of service suspension.