Insult of Personality in Criminal Investigation

The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office admitted that an investigation of local public prosecutors on a criminal defendant in Wakayama prefecture was inappropriate. The defendant was indicted after he had hurled an explosive device to then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida when he had been in campaign trail in April, 2023. The lawyer of the defendant argued that a public prosecutor insulted the defendant in interviews, while the defendant exercised his right of silence.

A twenty-five-year jobless man, Ryuji Kimura, was arrested after he threw an explosive device, which looked like a pipe bomb, to Kishida in his rally at fishery port in Wakayama city, and seized by the audience. Kishida was not injured by the explosion. Kimura was indicted with an attempt at murder in September 2023. The incident reminded the people of assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July, 2022, and skepticism on security guarding of police spread.

 

Kimura has been detained in Osaka Prison, due to security reasons. Public prosecutors of Wakayama Public Prosecutors Office have made interviews to Kimura. The lawyer for Kimura disputed to the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office in May that the interviews had been offending against personality of Kimura.

 

Asahi Shimbun reported that the interview was unusual. Kimura was spending reclusive life with mental uneasiness. The public prosecutors referred to Kimura’s behavior in the interview. “As you have been staying home, you would not be thanked by anyone, while we public prosecutors are thanked by everyone as law enforcement authority. Mr. Kimura, you are replaceable. No one will be in trouble, even if you are arrested. You are poor,” said the public prosecutor in an interview to Kimura in May.

 

The interview was filled with discrimination, based on the difference of social status between public prosecutors and Kimura. “If we, as professionals on the constitution or laws, are liken to major league baseball players, you are a boy in elementary school with little legal knowledge,” said the public prosecutors to Kimura in his silence. “You look to me very naïve when you are thinking yourself as knowing laws well.”

 

The interview was recorded in video. Kimura complained to his lawyer about what he was said by the public prosecutor. Answering to the complaint of the lawyer, the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office admitted that the utterance of the prosecutors was inappropriate, because it included insult on Kimura’s personality. The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office and Wakayama District Public Prosecutors Office have not commented the details of the investigation.

 

Osaka High Court decided to start a trial on inappropriate investigation by Special Investigation Division of Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office in August. The public prosecutors reportedly threatened a defendant, manager of real estate firm, saying “Do not underestimate public prosecutors!” It is supposed that there are a number of examples in which public prosecutors insulted personality in criminal investigation to draw confession from defendant.

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