YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) The Yokohama District Court dismissed on Monday a retrial for a deceased journalist who was convicted in 1945 in the Yokohama Incident, considered Japan's worst case of wartime repression of free speech.
The court passed no judgment on whether Yasuhito Ono was guilty of promoting communism in violation of a wartime law aimed at cracking down on communists, antiwar activists and subversive activities in the name of preserving law and order.
The court had "no other choice but to dismiss the case" because it is obliged to terminate deliberations in the event that a penalty is abolished or amnesty is granted, presiding Judge Takaaki Oshima said, drawing on a Supreme Court ruling as precedent.