In the trial of former Democratic Party of Japan chief Ichiro Ozawa, charged with conspiracy to falsify political fund reports, the Tokyo District Court said his testimony could not be trusted because it contained changes in time and other irregularities. (He was acquitted but faces an appellate trial.)
It is remarkable, however, that the court strongly criticized the prosecution's investigation of Mr. Tomohiro Ishikawa, one of Mr. Ozawa's former secretaries and now a Lower House member, and rejected as evidence many of the prosecution records of testimony.
It was found that the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office sent a falsified investigation record about Mr. Ishikawa to the Tokyo No. 5 prosecution inquest committee, an 11-member citizens' judicial panel. Mr. Ozawa was indicted after the same panel voted for the second time to favor his indictment after the prosecution office decided twice not to indict him due to insufficient evidence.