The Japanese government and the Tokyo metropolitan government on Wednesday appealed a court ruling that ordered them to compensate a company president and two others for an unlawful investigation into the alleged illegal export of items seen as capable of being used in the production of biological weapons.
The Tokyo District Court last month ordered the governments to pay a total of around 160 million yen ($1.1 million) after finding the arrest and indictment of the three was illegal.
The plaintiffs led by Masaaki Okawara, 74, president of machinery maker Ohkawara Kakohki Co., also appealed the ruling. A source close to them said the court's findings regarding how malicious the investigation was were insufficient.
The trial focused on whether police and prosecutors arbitrarily interpreted the regulations for export control to build a case against the three.
During the trial, a member of Tokyo police's Public Security Bureau testified that the allegations leveled against them were "fabricated."
But the Dec. 27 ruling did not mention the remarks.
Okawara, Junji Shimada, one of the company's former directors, and former adviser Shizuo Aishima were arrested and indicted between March and June 2020 on suspicion of illegally exporting spray dryers allegedly capable of producing biological agents without authorization.
Okawara and Shimada were detained for about a year, but prosecutors withdrew their indictment shortly before their first hearing in July 2021, saying that doubts had arisen concerning whether they were guilty of a crime. Aishima died in February the same year after falling ill during detainment.
The plaintiffs, including the family of Aishima, filed a lawsuit in September 2021 seeking 560 million yen in damages.
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Tokyo gov't, state ordered to compensate for illegal investigation
