Whistleblowing May Have Been Ignored

Mainichi Shimbun reported on Tuesday that Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) did not inform whistleblowers whether the police would make investigation on the case of Ohkawara Kakohki for over three months. The Whistleblowers Protection Act demands that the recipient of whistleblowing, ordinarily the police or other public offices, needs to notice about investigation within twenty days. It is suspected that the police violated the law.

The president of Ohkawara Kakohki Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of spray dryer in Yokohama, was arrested in 2020 with suspect of exporting spray dryers to China, which could be developed to be available for chemical weapons. Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office withdrew the indictment of the president, and the president sued the police demanding compensation. Tokyo District Court issued a sentence in December 2023 which ordered compensation and found the investigation of the police and public prosecutors had been illegal.

 

In the trial, three policemen testified that the investigation had been fabricated. The police once believed the export would consist a crime of violation against Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. However, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry was not sure about the illegality. Nevertheless, the police went forward to indictment in a face-saving manner. If it failed indictment, it may prove a wrong arrest. It can be categorized as another example of hostage justice in Japan.

 

There was an argument that the investigation had been inappropriate. The report of Mainichi revealed that some policemen had made whistleblowing to the MPD in October and November of 2023, arguing that the investigation was fabricated. The 32-page document, sent through fax, accused that an interview to a rival firm of Okawara had been made without any interview, a report of interview to the president had been intentionally shredded, and some data of experiment for spray drier had been fabricated.

 

When the police receive the whistleblowing, it needs to consider that and conclude whether it would make investigation about the fact the whistleblower revealed. The police office promised to conduct investigation on it in Merch 2024, it has not told its decision on the case. The police need to make an investigation based on the whistleblowing, and to report about their decision within 20 days. However, the police have not answered to the whistleblowing.

 

It was also revealed that the MPD repeatedly asked the whistleblowers to identify themselves. “Reveal your name and the ID number as the staff of MPD. We will protect your privacy” said the officer to the whistleblowers. MPD is simultaneously both the recipient of the whistleblowing and the entity of being charged. It was obvious that the whistleblowers would not be protected when they identify themselves.

 

Protection of whistleblowing was also focused in Hyogo Prefectural Government, in which a staff revealed inappropriate behavior of Governor Motohiko Saito. The whistleblower was found dead after the governor and his staffs began who had made that whistleblowing. The government is considering introduction of punishments against violation of Whistleblower Protection Act.

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