An Osaka prosecutor who tampered with evidence to try to convict a former senior welfare ministry official failed to consider the weight of the evidence that favored the accused, the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office admitted in a report Friday.
The nation's top prosecutor's office also admitted offices higher in the chain of command failed to keep a close enough eye on the situation.
Behind Tsunehiko Maeda's actions was the pressure he was under to indict the welfare ministry official by his superiors in the special investigation unit of the Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office, the report says.