PRESS CONFERENCE

Lawsuit against Japan's "Hostage Justice" System
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, Honorary chairman of the Kadokawa Cultural Promotion Foundation
Jun-ichiro Hironaka, Yuichi Kaido and Hiroaki Murayama, Attorney-at-Law

15:00-16:00 Thursday, June 27, 2024
Language: The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation.

In October 2022, Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, 79, former chairman of publishing house, Kadokawa Shoten, was indicted for bribing an official of advertisement giant Dentsu, which was in charge of selecting sponsors for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Kadokawa says he is a victim of Japan's hostage justice system.

Kadokawa was detained for 226 days until he was bailed on a 200-million-yen bond. During his detention, he says he was repeatedly told by prosecutors that he would not be released until he admitted his wrongdoing and that he was treated rudely and harshly in order to pressure him into making a confession.

Now facing trial on bribery charges, he has decided to file a civil lawsuit on June 27 against the Japanese government for illegal detention and interrogation. Kadokawa also plans to file a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Committee on the same day.

He is coming to the FCCJ to share his experience during his detention and his hope that his civil lawsuit and international pressure will help improve Japan's criminal justice system to the level that meets the standard of other developed countries.

He will appear with his lawyers: Hiroaki Murayama, who, as a district court judge was known for reopening the case of death-row inmate Iwao Hakamada; Junichiro Hironaka, who represented Carlos Ghosn, and Yuichi Kaido.

How to attend:
Please register at front@fccj.or.jp with your name, the name of your media outlet, and FCCJ membership number. Due to space restrictions attendance will be limited. Doors open 15 minutes before the event. Please sign in and giving your name and contact details at the reception.

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Professional Activities Committee