The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to pay 180,000 yen in compensation to a man denied the right to see his lawyer while in police detention in 1990.
Tokyo police violated the man's right to legal counsel by delaying his meeting with the lawyer, said Toshihiro Kanatani, presiding justice at the top court's No. 3 petty bench.
The top court overturned an October 1994 Tokyo High Court ruling that dismissed the compensation ordered by the Tokyo District Court in October 1993.
The man was arrested in October 1990 while taking part in a student demonstration in Tokyo's Minato Ward to protest the Emperor's enthronement ceremony, which took place the following month.
He was taken to the Tsukiji Police Station of the Metropolitan Police Department and detained there, according to the court.
Lawyer Masatoshi Uchida went to the station immediately after the student's arrest, but police officers refused to allow him to meet his client, saying he was being questioned. They asked Uchida to delay the meeting until the following day, the court said.
Later, the man was released without being indicted.
Uchida and his client had demanded 2 million yen in compensation from the metro government, which has jurisdiction over the MPD.