Wife of Man Who Died After Wrongful Arrest: 'I Will Never Forgive'

An unusual graveside visit went down this week in Japan, after a businessman there who was wrongfully arrested died after his illegal detention. CBS News notes that Shizuo Aishima, a former consultant for the Ohkawara Kakohki machinery company, was one of three execs unlawfully detained and indicted in March 2020 before their trials on charges of illegal exports that were eventually dropped.

• The charges: Aishima and the other businessmen were tied to Ohkawara Kakohki's reportedly illegal exports of spray dryers that can turn liquid into powder and be used in the military, per the BBC. Ohkawara Kakohki insisted that restrictions on such exports didn't apply to their business.

• Detention: The businessmen were held for months, and by October 2020, Aishima had been diagnosed with progressive stomach cancer. Prosecutors refused to release him, claiming there was a chance he could destroy evidence if he was set free. Aishima was hospitalized a month after his diagnosis. He died at the age of 72 in February 2021—five months before the indictments against himself and the two other businessmen were dropped completely.
• Previous mea culpa: Tokyo's High Court found that the initial probe, arrests, and indictments weren't backed by any substantial evidence and were against the law. Per the Japan Times, Tokyo prosecutors and police, who were ordered to pay compensation to the tune of $1.1 million, made a general apology in June over the matter, though Aishima's family refused to accept it at the time, calling for further investigation.
• At the grave: On Monday, senior officials from Tokyo's police department and prosecutor's office, as well as from the top public prosecutor's office, tried again, kneeling and praying at the site where Aishima is buried and apologizing to his loved ones. "We deeply apologize for conducting an illegal investigation," said Tetsuro Kamata of Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department.
• Family response: Aishima's wife noted that "I accept the apology, but I will never forgive," while one of his two sons is calling for the investigation into what happened to his father to be reopened, per the Asahi Shimbun. "The court must learn from this and think about what they can do so that there won't be more victims of 'hostage justice' in the future," a lawyer for the family said at a press conference, per CBS.