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Police Under Pressure in Japan: Okawara Apology Without Reinvestigation and New Leads in Kobe Killing

Families say the apologies fall short after officials declined to reopen the wrongful‑conviction probe.

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Overview

  • Senior police and prosecution officials apologized at the grave of Shizuo Ajima, but his family demanded a re‑investigation and tougher disciplinary reviews.
  • Deputy Prosecutor General Hirofumi Yamamoto said the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office is not considering re‑examining the Okawara case or revisiting disciplinary actions at this stage.
  • Osaka prosecutors indicted two Osaka Prefectural Police investigators on special public‑official assault charges over violence during a search, and the force is probing additional involvement.
  • In the Kobe stabbing, surveillance footage indicates the victim was tailed for about 50 minutes over roughly 4 kilometers, with the suspect believed to have ridden the same trains.
  • Investigators say the suspect likely took a taxi to JR Shin‑Kobe Station and then a Shinkansen toward Tokyo after the attack, and he had obtained a Shin‑Kobe ticket in late July before being arrested in Okutama on August 22.