Interrogation Video to Be Played in Court over Damages Claim

Tokyo, July 2 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo District Court decided Thursday to play video clips of interrogations by a public prosecutor in the courtroom as part of an 11-million-yen damages lawsuit against the state. The lawsuit was filed by the head of a Tokyo-based solar power company who claims that he was subjected to illegal interrogations after being arrested by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s special investigation squad. The 52-year-old company head, Naoyuki Ikuta, has been charged with fraud and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He has appealed the sentence. In the damages suit, the state side submitted all interrogation recordings to the district court. The plaintiff requested that 61 scenes, totaling about one hour and 15 minutes, be played in the courtroom. Speaking to reporters after Thursday’s court hearing, Ikuta’s attorney, Hiroshi Kawatsu, explained that the purpose of the request is to prevent illegal interrogations in the future by informing the public of inappropriate interrogation practices. According to the complaint, Ikuta was interrogated for a total of 205 hours over 41 consecutive days between May and July 2021. He claims that he was insulted and intimidated, and that his right to remain silent and personal rights were violated. The state side argues that the interrogations did not exceed social norms. Meanwhile, the district court last month accepted Ikuta’s plea for a criminal trial of the prosecutor who was in charge of his case, Hiroshi Horiki, 57, on charges of assault and abuse by a special public official. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]