PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In March, 2020, Aishima and others from the company were arrested for allegedly violating the foreign exchange law and were later indicted. Aishima was found to have stomach cancer in October and his detention was briefly suspended, but judges denied a total of eight bail requests. He died in February 2021 with the charges still pending."
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STORY: "Japan Govt Vows to Fight Suit on Bail Denials for Ohkawara Exec," published by Nippon.com on June 29, 2026.
GIST: "The Japanese government indicated Monday that it will fight a lawsuit claiming that rulings by 37 judges to deny bail for a former adviser to machinery maker Ohkawara Kakohki Co., who died of cancer while facing wrongful charges, were illegal.
The state called for the suit filed by three family members of Shizuo Aishima, who died in 2021 at age 72, to be dismissed, in the first oral arguments of the case at Tokyo District Court. The plaintiffs, including his 77-year-old widow, demanded about 168 million yen in damages.
It is unusual for a lawsuit to hold judges accountable for what has been described as "hostage justice," or the practice of holding suspects who deny accusations in custody for a prolonged period, according to the plaintiff side.
In March 2020, Aishima and others from the company were arrested for allegedly violating the foreign exchange law and were later indicted. Aishima was found to have stomac
The state called for the suit filed by three family members of Shizuo Aishima, who died in 2021 at age 72, to be dismissed, in the first oral arguments of the case at Tokyo District Court. The plaintiffs, including his 77-year-old widow, demanded about 168 million yen in damages.
It is unusual for a lawsuit to hold judges accountable for what has been described as "hostage justice," or the practice of holding suspects who deny accusations in custody for a prolonged period, according to the plaintiff side.
In March 2020, Aishima and others from the company were arrested for allegedly violating the foreign exchange law and were later indicted. Aishima was found to have stomac
Lawyers for the plaintiffs told a press conference after the hearing that they will seek to examine the judges as witnesses.
The wife told the court that Aishima cried and was devastated that his bail request was denied while he was hospitalized, saying he found it inhumane. She said she wants to hear from the judges why the bail requests were repeatedly rejected.
In March 2020, Aishima and others from the company were arrested for allegedly violating the foreign exchange law and were later indicted. Aishima was found to have stomach cancer in October and his detention was briefly suspended, but judges denied a total of eight bail requests. He died in February 2021 with the charges still pending."
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. 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. 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; 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;
