Editorial
MPD must admit failure to catch culprits in 1995 shooting of police chief was a defeat
In an unprecedented move, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has concluded that the 1995 shooting of then National Police Agency (NPA) chief Takaji Kunimatsu, for which the statute of limitations ran out Tuesday, was a terrorist attack launched by AUM Shinrikyo members on the order of cult founder Chizuo Matsumoto.
Goro Aoki, head of the MPD's Public Security Bureau, made the announcement at a news conference on Tuesday as the 15-year statute of limitations for the case ran out.
None of the individuals the MPD suspected were responsible for the crime was indicted, as police failed to gather sufficient evidence to prove their involvement. Nevertheless, the MPD fingered the AUM cult for the attack. Is this justifiable?
Even considering the gravity of the crimes committed by AUM, the MPD's move is highly questionable as it apparently deviated from the rules of criminal procedure in a state governed by the rule of law.
The police statement identifies cult members suspected of involvement in the incident -- which left Kunimatsu seriously injured -- and those connected to them by the letters A through H, details the statements they made during questioning as well as evidence against them. It then summarizes and evaluates the results of the investigation. The statement contains vague wording such as "point to the possibility of ..." and "there is strong suspicion that ...," leaving the impression that assumptions are being made based on various pieces of circumstantial evidence.
While determining that the incident was an AUM terrorist attack, the statement says the MPD failed to identify all individuals who were involved or to specify the roles each of them played in the incident. The MPD neither identified the assailant who shot Kunimatsu in front of his Tokyo apartment nor found the gun used in the attack.
Once indicted, all defendants are guaranteed the right to defend themselves through appropriate procedure. This was the case with AUM Shinrikyo followers who were tried for other crimes. Therefore, from the viewpoint of human rights, the MPD's comments on the investigation into the Kunimatsu shooting cannot help but be seen as problematic.
If the MPD intended to emphasize to the public that it has clarified that the incident was a terrorist attack by AUM, then it would mean the force placed priority on saving face.
The MPD's Public Security Bureau that handles ideologically-motivated organized crimes (as opposed to the Criminal Investigation Bureau) played a key role in the investigation of the deadly sarin gas attacks on Tokyo subway trains that occurred 10 days before the shooting incident.
It emerged the following year that the Public Security Bureau had secretly questioned a senior officer with the MPD, who it suspected of involvement in the shooting, for six months without notifying the investigation task force or even the NPA. The head of the bureau was subsequently dismissed and then MPD Superintendent General Yukihiko Inoue resigned to take responsibility. In 2004, the MPD arrested the senior officer, who was a follower of AUM Shinrikyo, and three other high-ranking members of the cult, but none were indicted.
The confusion over the investigations has raised suspicions that the Criminal Investigation Bureau and the Public Security Bureau failed to communicate closely with each other, that they tended to keep their investigations secret from each other and that their initial response to the incident was inadequate. The head of the Public Security Bureau should have stated how seriously it is reflecting on the way it conducted its investigation, and how it intends to make use of lessons learned from the case to maintain law and order.
In 1995, these incidents, coupled with the Great Hanshin Earthquake that devastated Kobe and surrounding areas in January, shook Japan's myth of safety. Terrorist attacks continue to occur frequently in various parts of the world. It goes without saying that police should play an important role in cracking down on such incidents. However, the public urges police to go through appropriate legal procedures for arresting suspects.
The MPD lacked prudence in exercising police authority when it released the statement on its investigations into the shooting of Kunimatsu.
(Mainichi Japan) March 31, 2010