Police admitted Friday they bungled their investigations into online threats sent via virus-infected computers of unwitting parties and thus made four wrongful arrests, realizing their error only after the apparent true culprit made contact, but they denied forcing the four to confess.
The Tokyo, Osaka, Kanagawa and Mie prefectural forces released reports of their investigation into the wrongful arrests earlier this year of four people whose computers had initially appeared to be the source of the online threats.
The Kanagawa Prefectural Police said their questioning of a teenager they wrongfully arrested in July on suspicion of posting an email threat on the Yokohama Municipal Government website was inappropriate. They said the attitude of the investigators "may have bemused the minor" who was arrested, but claimed they did not force the suspect into making the confession provided.