A Japanese court has decided to open a criminal trial against a public prosecutor over his alleged coercive behaviors and insulting language during interrogations.
The Osaka High Court made the decision on Thursday, approving a request by Yamagishi Shinobu, the former president of a real estate company based in Osaka Prefecture.
Yamagishi was arrested and indicted in 2019 by an investigative team from the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office on suspicion of embezzlement in a land deal involving a school operator. He was acquitted in a trial.
Yamagishi argued that prosecutor Tabuchi Daisuke, who was in charge of investigating the case, conducted an illegal inquiry by reviling Yamagishi’s former subordinate.
Yamagishi requested the high court to open a criminal trial against the prosecutor on charges of assault and humiliation conducted by special public servants.
Last year, the Osaka District Court found the prosecutor had used coercive and insulting language, and caused Yamagishi’s former subordinate psychological pain during investigations. It said that such behaviors constitute assault and humiliation.
But the district court fell short of opening a criminal trial, saying that the prosecutor’s behaviors were a part of the investigation process.
In response to an appeal filed by Yamagishi, the Osaka High Court approved his request for a criminal trial against the prosecutor.
According to the Supreme Court, this is the first case in Japan in which a prosecutor will stand trial on criminal charges regarding an inquiry by the prosecution’s special investigation department.