Senior officials from Tochigi Prefectural Police on Saturday visited the parents of a 19-year-old youth who was lynched last December by a group of teenagers and apologized for failing to launch an investigation before the killing.
During their visit to the youth's home, in the town of Kurobane, the officials admitted that police had failed to open an investigation before Masakazu Sudo was killed and offered an apology.
Sudo's parents said they will decide whether to accept the apology after thoroughly examining the contents of the police report detailing why and how law-enforcement officers failed.
The Sudos asked the prefectural police last month to look into why officers at Ishibashi Police Station failed to act on their request for an investigation immediately after they reported that their son had been abducted.