It has surfaced that Sakai Police Station in Osaka Prefecture falsified the recorded testimonies of two police officers in a trial of a 40-year-old man originally charged with violation of the stimulant drug control law. Without knowing that falsified records were used at trial, the prosecution demanded a prison term of 3½ years on March 27 and the hearings were concluded.
But on June 10, the Sakai branch of the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office announced that it had asked the Sakai branch of the Osaka District Court to retry the man because the police station disclosed that the records had been falsified.
The Osaka prefectural police have seriously damaged the public trust placed in them. A number of other police departments in Japan also have been plagued by irregularities. All police officers must take their responsibilities seriously.