Prosecutor Sent to Trial over Inappropriate Interrogation

Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo District Court on Wednesday decided to put a prosecutor on criminal trial for alleged inappropriate interrogation methods used against a company president. Hiroshi Horiki, a prosecutor formerly with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s special investigation squad, will be tried on a charge of assault and cruelty by a specialized public employee. The decision cannot be appealed, meaning Horiki will face criminal proceedings as a defendant. According to the Supreme Court, he is the second prosecutor to be subject to such a decision. The decision followed a request for a court-ordered trial by Naoyuki Ikuta, 52, president of a solar power business company, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in his first trial for crimes including fraud and has appealed the ruling. Between May and July 2021, after his arrest by the special squad, Ikuta was interrogated by Horiki, 57, for about 205 hours in total over 41 consecutive days. Ikuta said he faced persistent threats and insults when he remained silent, including remarks such as, “Treating the Public Prosecutors Office as an enemy means you are (part of) antisocial forces.” In 2022, the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office found the interrogation to be “inappropriate.” A Tokyo District Court ruling in March this year which found Ikuta guilty also said the prosecutor’s remarks were “improper” because they went “beyond persuasion and questioning.” A court-ordered trial system allows a complainant to ask a court to initiate criminal proceedings when a public official, such as a prosecutor or police officer, is accused of a crime but not indicted. Horiki was criminally accused of assault and cruelty by a specialized public employee in November 2024, but the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office decided not to indict him in March this year, citing insufficient evidence. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]