Arrest of a public prosecutor
(From The Japan Times September 23 issue)

主任検事逮捕で揺らぐ検察の威信

On Sept. 10 the Osaka District Court acquitted Ms. Atsuko Muraki, a former welfare ministry bureau chief, of instructing her subordinate, Mr. Tsutomu Kamimura, to fabricate and issue a certificate that recognizes an organization as a group for the disabled, thus enabling it to use a postage discount system. The ruling cast doubt on the legitimacy of the investigation. The Sept. 22 arrest of the elite investigation team's chief prosecutor, Mr. Tsunehiko Maeda, on suspicion of having altered the content of a floppy disk seized from Mr. Kamimura further undermines people's trust in public prosecutors. (The prosecution decided not to appeal the ruling that declared Ms. Muraki innocent.)

In hearings, Ms. Muraki's co-defendants and witnesses withdrew statements they had made during the investigation, and the court refused to admit as evidence 34 of 43 depositions presented by the Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office's special investigation squad, pointing to the possible use of leading questions or pressure.

The floppy disk, seized May 26, 2009, contained text of the fabricated certificate. The court adopted as evidence an investigative report that Ms. Muraki's defense counsel obtained from the prosecution. It said that the disk was last updated at "1:20.06" a.m. on June 1, 2004. The prosecution argued that Ms. Muraki instructed Mr. Kamimura, also on trial, to issue the certificate during the first 10 days of June. The defense counsel pointed out that the disk update of shortly past midnight May 31 contradicted the argument.

After the floppy disk was returned, it was found that the disk had been falsified, with the last update changed to "9:10.56" p.m. of June 8. If the disk had been submitted to the court as evidence, Ms. Muraki could have been found guilty. The possibility cannot be ruled out that Mr. Maeda tampered with the disk to make its content congruous with the prosecution's preconceived scenario.

The Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office, investigating the disk falsification, should not trivialize it as an error of an individual. Violation by prosecutors of the principles of investigation could destroy the basis of criminal trials.

大阪地検は、割引郵便制度を悪用した偽の証明書発行事件で逮捕された厚生労働省の村木厚子元局長に無罪を言い渡した。判決は捜査の正当性に疑問を呈するものだ。その後、大阪地検特捜部の前田恒彦主任検事が押収品であるフロッピーディスク(FD)のデータの改ざん容疑で逮捕され、検察に対する信用がさらに揺らいだ。

FDには偽証明書が保存されていたが、その最終更新日時は元局長が部下に発行を指示したと検察側が主張する時点より以前で、つじつまが合わなかった。

特捜部から返却されたFDは最終更新日時が変わっていた。前田容疑者が検察の見立てどおりにデータを改ざんした可能性は否めない。

最高検はこの事件を個人的な誤りとして扱ってはならない。検事が捜査の原則に違反することは刑事裁判の根幹を揺るがすものだ。