A court on Friday ordered the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to pay damages of around ¥1 million ($7,500) over the 2017 death of a Nepalese man who was forcibly restrained while under police investigation.
The Tokyo District Court determined that the authorities' failure to provide Arjun Bahadur Singh with proper treatment was illegal, and that his death was caused by him being inappropriately fitted with restraining devices at a police station in the capital's Shinjuku Ward.
The man, 39, was arrested on March 14, 2017, on suspicion of stealing lost property and was secured with restraining equipment that bound his hands and stomach the following day, according to the ruling.
The restraints were partially removed and the man was escorted to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office the same day, but he fell unconscious during interrogation. He was subsequently taken to hospital where he was confirmed dead.
The man's family had sought ¥61.82 million in damages from the metropolitan government and the state.
The treatment of foreign nationals by authorities in Japan has garnered significant attention recently, especially after the 2021 death of Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali, a Sri Lankan woman, while in detention at an immigration center in Aichi Prefecture.