Ohkawara Kakohki Co: Japan: Police and Scientific Experimentation: "The case revolved around Ohkawara Kakohki Co., a Yokohama-based manufacturer and exporter of spray dryers. The Metropolitan Police Department believed the spray dryers could be used for military purposes, and that Ohkawara Kakohki was exporting the equipment without obtaining government permission. During voluntary questioning, Masaaki Okawara, the company president, and two other senior officials repeatedly said the equipment was not subject to export restrictions because it did not have a disinfecting function. Despite those statements, the three were arrested by police and indicted by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office in March 2020.")...From our 'What a unique decision!' department: Major (Welcome) Development: The terribly flawed investigation was illegal, as the court ruled, "because police failed to conduct an experiment to determine if the equipment had a disinfecting function, as asserted by the executives."

BACKGROUND: From a previous post of this Blog: 

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "However, as the trial that began in July revealed, the prosecution's case was based on fabricated evidence and the extortion of confessions over the course of hundreds of interrogations. A police officer who was called to testify even suggested that the investigations were intended to serve the ambitions of some of his superiors.  At the start of the investigation in 2018, prosecutors contacted the Ministry of Economy (METI), which confirmed that there was nothing to prohibit exports of the machines in question, as they could not be used for military purposes.  The public prosecutor allegedly overlooked this fact and forced METI to collaborate with the prosecution.  An investigator also pressured one of the three defendants to sign a written statement, the contents of which were worded in such a way as to confirm the accusations.  Although the police consulted experts, one of them explained to the court, "What I said was changed." PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Like others before them, the Ohkawara Kakohki managers fell victim to the excesses of the Japanese justice system, which denies criminal suspects "the rights to due process and a fair trial," as Human Rights Watch (HRW) pointed out in a report published in May 2023.  Focused on obtaining confessions, it allows suspects to be held in police custody for up to 23 days, renewable indefinitely on the basis of other charges…"

https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/5296055726993156403

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "But the charges were dropped in July 2021 after prosecutors realized that the suspects were probably correct in asserting that the equipment was not subject to the export restrictions. By that time, one of the suspects, a company adviser, had died at the age of 72 before he could clear his name. In 2021, the surviving executives and other plaintiffs filed the lawsuit, seeking compensation for what they said was an illegal investigation by police and prosecutors. In December 2023, the Tokyo District Court ruled the investigation was illegal because police failed to conduct an experiment to determine if the equipment had a disinfecting function, as asserted by the executives.

Instead, the court said, Tokyo police made the arrests on vague grounds. Prosecutors also acted illegally because they indicted the three without making an independent evaluation of what the suspects had said about the equipment, the court ruled."

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STORY: "Court increases compensation for victims of ‘illegal’ investigation," by Staff Writer  Saori Kuroda,  published by Asahi Shinbum, on May 28, 2025.

GIST: "The Tokyo High Court on May 28 increased the compensation amount awarded to three company executives who were arrested in an “illegal” investigation concerning bogus allegations about weapons exports.

The investigation was so flawed that police officers involved in the case testified in favor of the plaintiffs.

The central and Tokyo metropolitan governments were ordered to pay 166 million yen ($1.2 million) to the plaintiffs, up from 160 million yen awarded by the Tokyo District Court in 2023.

The high court ruled there were fundamental problems in the decisions made by Tokyo police and prosecutors to determine if a crime had even been committed.

The case revolved around Ohkawara Kakohki Co., a Yokohama-based manufacturer and exporter of spray dryers.

The Metropolitan Police Department believed the spray dryers could be used for military purposes, and that Ohkawara Kakohki was exporting the equipment without obtaining government permission.

During voluntary questioning, Masaaki Okawara, the company president, and two other senior officials repeatedly said the equipment was not subject to export restrictions because it did not have a disinfecting function.

Despite those statements, the three were arrested by police and indicted by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office in March 2020.

But the charges were dropped in July 2021 after prosecutors realized that the suspects were probably correct in asserting that the equipment was not subject to the export restrictions.

By that time, one of the suspects, a company adviser, had died at the age of 72 before he could clear his name.

In 2021, the surviving executives and other plaintiffs filed the lawsuit, seeking compensation for what they said was an illegal investigation by police and prosecutors.

In December 2023, the Tokyo District Court ruled the investigation was illegal because police failed to conduct an experiment to determine if the equipment had a disinfecting function, as asserted by the executives.

Instead, the court said, Tokyo police made the arrests on vague grounds.

Prosecutors also acted illegally because they indicted the three without making an independent evaluation of what the suspects had said about the equipment, the court ruled.

In the district court trial, a police officer who worked the case gave stunning testimony that the investigation was fabricated.

In the Tokyo High Court trial, another police officer involved in the case testified that there was no reason to make the arrests.

After the high court ruling, Okawara said he hoped investigating agencies would examine the case so that such an incident never happens again.

The Metropolitan Police Department issued a statement saying it would decide how to proceed after carefully going over the ruling."

The entire story can be read at: 

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15802106

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

SEE BREAKDOWN OF  SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG,  AT THE LINK BELOW:  HL:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985

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FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."

Lawyer Radha Natarajan:

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

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