Major news media outlets are once again taking heat for depending too much on information from investigative authorities in their reporting, this time over recent incidents surrounding the 1995 shooting of the National Police Agency chief.
Four people linked to the Aum Shinrikyo cult were arrested July 7 on suspicion of involvement in the attack on Takaji Kunimatsu. Two former senior Aum members, who are now appealing death sentences for separate cases, were believed to be the actual gunman and the commander of the shooting.
However, the four men arrested were released Wednesday after prosecutors failed to charge them based on what they thought was new evidence, while the other two have never faced arrest warrants over the shooting.