Prosecutors’ Interrogation: Emphasis on Confessions Leads to Use of Intimidation

Editorial

15:36 JST, August 14, 2024

An unjust interrogation in which a prosecutor verbally abused a suspect and tried to force statements out of him has become an issue. Investigative methods that place undue emphasis on confessions must be swiftly revised.

The Osaka High Court has decided to put a prosecutor on trial for assault and cruelty by a specialized public employee. The prosecutor is suspected of conducting illegal interrogations in an embezzlement case that was handled by the special investigation squad of the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office. This is the first time a prosecutor will be brought before a criminal court over an interrogation.

The prosecutor was pounding on his desk in 2019 as he interrogated a former senior official of a real estate development company, telling him, “Don’t mess with us prosecutors” and “You’re a very guilty man.” The former senior official said that the former president of the company, who was his supervisor, had been involved in the embezzlement case, and the special investigation squad arrested the former president based on that assertion.

However, the former senior official’s statement was deemed not to be credible during the trial of the former president, who was eventually acquitted. In its decision, the high court strongly condemned the prosecutor for “continuing to use intimidating and insulting language and behavior, which is illegal,” as the prosecutor had browbeaten the former senior official for 50 minutes.

The prosecutor likely tried to attack the suspect’s character and demoralize him so as to get a statement that would be in line with the assumptions of the special investigation squad. This is also a far cry from the prosecutor’s duty to clarify the facts of a case.

In recent years, a series of unfair interrogations by prosecutors have been revealed.

In July, the Tokyo District Court ordered the government to pay ¥1.1 million in compensation in a case in which a former lawyer was arrested and a prosecutor with the Yokohama District Public Prosecutors Office was accused of insulting the former lawyer by calling him a “punk” and “brat.” The former lawyer had remained silent. The prosecutor can only be said to have disrespected rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution.

In both cases, the interrogations were recorded, and the problems were discovered upon review of the footage. The depth of the problem lies in the fact that the prosecutors continued to act in an intimidating manner despite the presence of cameras.

It is said that if a confession is not obtained from a suspect, the prosecutor in question will be less well-regarded within their organization. This culture may put heavy pressure on prosecutors that leads to heavy-handed interrogations. If prosecutors do not even have a sense of guilt, the situation is serious.

In the large scale vote-buying scandal involving former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai over the 2019 House of Councillors election, it was revealed that when a prosecutor with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s special investigation squad interrogated a then Hiroshima City assembly member, they suggested that he would not be prosecuted and got him to plead guilty to the charges.

Currently, prosecutors’ interrogations are recorded in more than 90% of cases in which suspects are arrested, but this figure does not include questioning that suspects voluntarily agree to participate in. It is essential to expand the scope of the system.

Suspects’ confessions have been emphasized in many trials and used as the basis for convictions. The courts also bear a heavy responsibility for allowing confessions to be given so much weight.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 14, 2024)