Elite bureaucrat sentenced to 5 years for car crash that killed two

[thomas]

Two years ago, Kozo Iizuka (87), the former head of the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, killed a young mother and her 3-year old daughter and injured nine others, including his wife, when he accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake on a busy crossing in Ikebukuro. Kozo Iizuka pleaded innocent, claiming a mechanical deficiency had caused the accident. Today, the Tokyo District Court sentenced him to five years in jail.

His case caused immense uproar and criticism due to the perceived special treatment he received by the police, the legal system and the media, ostensibly due to his privileged position in society. He has never apologised to Takuya Matsunaga, the bereaved husband and father.

Iizuka, who was also injured in the accident and hospitalized, was indicted without arrest in February last year, triggering a public outcry and claims that he had been given preferential treatment due to his former government position. The accident also stirred a debate about the increasing number of older drivers on Japanese roads and the dangers they pose and prompted many older people in the nation to give up driving.

Former elite bureaucrat gets five years for 2019 Tokyo crash that killed two

Kozo Iizuka, 90, was found guilty of running a red light after mistaking the gas pedal for the brake, killing a mother and daughter and injuring nine others.

www.japantimes.co.jp

The case attracted heightened public attention particularly as Takuya Matsunaga, the grieving husband of Mana and father of Riko, held a news conference to express his grief and desire for harsh punishment for the driver. Although only 22 tickets were made available for the public to hear the court ruling, 563 people lined up on Sept. 2, hoping to get a ticket to enter the courtroom.

Elderly driver in fatal Ikebukuro accident gets 5 years in prison | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

 

[Petaris]

If you can no longer tell the difference between the break and the accelorator its time to take a train, bus, or taxi.

 

[mdchachi]

If you can no longer tell the difference between the break and the accelorator its time to take a train, bus, or taxi.

My son starts driver training next week.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

At least he will be using the right side of the road , LOL. My first few weeks driving in Japan sure seemed weird.

 

[Davey]

Last week's news:

Man who lost family in Tokyo car crash addresses driver in blog post, hopes to 'end fight' - The Mainichi

TOKYO -- The man who lost his wife and daughter in April 2019 after they were struck by a speeding car in Tokyo's Ikebukuro has written a blog entry d

mainichi.jp

 

[nice gaijin]

The part that guts me is that he hasn't apologized to the victims and their families. I get that his defense was that it was the car's fault and he wants to avoid all responsibility, but who put the car there? Own up to the horrible thing you did, even if you didn't mean to.

I don't understand why the widower would be the target of abuse on the internet, but it is the internet after all...

 

[thomas]

Wikipedia has a very detailed account of the events on the day of the accident and thereafter:

Higashi-Ikebukuro runaway car crash - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

池袋暴走事故 (2019年) - Wikipedia

ja.wikipedia.org

I have always found this case heartbreakingly tragic, but the details and implications are beyond belief:

• before the accident, the defendant had already had sensory issues with his legs (suspicion of Parkinson's Disease).
• On the day of the accident, he had been speeding because he and his wife had a reservation at a French restaurant; he'd been weaving through the traffic.
• He admitted he had gone into the curve at a speed exceeding the 50 km/h speed limit because he was hurrying.
• Straight after the accident, he did not call the police but his son to tell him that he had hit several people.
• The accident happened on 19 April, but indictment procedures only started in November 2019 after the husband and father had collected 391,136 signatures in a petition to indict the defendant.
• Contrary to police practice, the defendant was not arrested and was never called "suspect" (容疑者 yogisha) in police and media reports. Only after the referral of the case to prosecutors on 12 November 2019, some media began referring to the defendant as "suspect".

No wonder this case left a bitter taste with many.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

Taking the idea "respect your elders" a little bit too far maybe?

 

[thomas]

Taking the idea "respect your elders" a little bit too far maybe?

... and overeagerness to please a retired senior bureaucrat and "high-class citizen" (上級国民).

 

[Petaris]

Last week's news:

Man who lost family in Tokyo car crash addresses driver in blog post, hopes to 'end fight' - The Mainichi

TOKYO -- The man who lost his wife and daughter in April 2019 after they were struck by a speeding car in Tokyo's Ikebukuro has written a blog entry d

mainichi.jp

After reading that its just kind of absurd. I agree with @nice gaijin, why in the world are people abusing the widower?

Based on the info @thomas posted from Wikipedia, about the sensory issues, why was this guy even still driving?

 

[thomas]

It's been reported that Kozo Iizuka will not appeal the court ruling from 5 September. The deadline to file an appeal is today.

"I want to accept the verdict and take responsibility for my crime," Kozo Iizuka, a former senior official in the industry ministry, told the head of a nonprofit organization that provides support to perpetrators of crime on Sept. 15. According to the NPO leader, Iizuka also apologized to victims of the accident that occurred in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district, including a mother and her daughter who died.

And he will effectively do time.

Iizuka was never detained and allowed to remain at home even after he was indicted. But with the finalizing of his sentence, he will likely serve time. A Criminal Procedure Law provision allows for the suspension of a prison sentence for convicts 70 and older if the punishment could have a negative effect on the individual's health. One source in the judicial system said such decisions are made not based only on age, but the health of the individual is also taken into consideration. The sentence Iizuka was given does not involve hard labor.

Ex-bureaucrat, 90, accepts prison term for fatal road crash | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

 

[mdchachi]

Probably will be a suspended sentence with no time is my guess.

 

[thomas]

Probably will be a suspended sentence with no time is my guess.

That would have been my guess, too, but with all those allegations of preferential treatment and in light of the public pressure, he'll probably serve a while until he is declared unfit for detention.

 

[thomas]

Last Tuesday, the driver admitted to having confused the brake pedal with the accelerator and apologised to the family of the victims. He is about to start his prison sentence.

His statement conveyed via his supporters read: "That the car was out of control was caused by my mistaking the brakes and the accelerator. To reflect on my negligence, I wish to serve my sentence." Iizuka reported to the Public Prosecutors Office in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district on the same day. He is expected to enter prison soon. The written statement, titled "upon my imprisonment," is the first time Iizuka has publicly acknowledged negligence, and that the accident was the result of mixing up the pedals. The document was entrusted to his supporters just before he presented himself to prosecutors. Among its passages is one that reads, "At the criminal trial, I did not have any recollection of stepping on the wrong pedal when the accident happened, and so I continued to maintain my innocence despite my feelings of pain for the victims and their bereaved family. I have read the evidence that was presented and the text of the court's ruling, and understand that the car going out of control was due to my negligence. I apologize for the trouble I have caused to many people through this accident."

Driver, 90, in Tokyo accident that killed young mother and daughter admits pedal error - The Mainichi

TOKYO -- A 90-year-old retired senior bureaucrat set to start a 5-year prison term for negligent driving causing death in an April 2019 accident that

mainichi.jp

 

[nice gaijin]

pretty mealy-mouthed apology, but I hope this gives the victims' family a sense of closure after all this suffering.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

Back when I was stationed in Japan , it was standard policy to apologize with two cartons of cigarettes and maybe a bottle of Johnny Walker if you accidentally killed someone. When I read that , I thought that wouldn't make me very happy if I lost a loved one. It was actually in a booklet the base handed out to us.

 

[nice gaijin]

Back when I was stationed in Japan , it was standard policy to apologize with two cartons of cigarettes and maybe a bottle of Johnny Walker if you accidentally killed someone. When I read that , I thought that wouldn't make me very happy if I lost a loved one. It was actually in a booklet the base handed out to us.

I can't tell if that's indicative of how life was valued in postwar Japan by the Japanese... or by the US military. Apparently one of the reasons the locals dislike American bases is the crimes committed by (usually drunk) servicemen.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

Half the businesses in Fukuoka had signs on the door "No Foreigners" and I could not blame them. Drunken servicemen were like wild animals , and always starting trouble. It only took me a few months to figure , travel alone and stay sober saved me a lot of trouble. I also learned if you spoke the language and acted polite , you were allowed in almost everywhere , regardless of the signs.

 

[Strawberryzaaria]

I already have a hard time driving in America (I just got my license) but Japan sounds hard to drive in.

 

[nice gaijin]

I also learned if you spoke the language and acted polite , you were allowed in almost everywhere , regardless of the signs.

Pretty good advice all around! If only everyone were as thoughtful!

 

[Grandpa Frank]

I was surprised how quick I got used to driving on the wrong side of the road. We used a 6 passenger crew cab truck and I always had other Navy guys to yell at me if I got on the wrong side , LOL. Lucky Maine traffic was light when I first got back to driving in Maine. At least 3 or 4 times in the early morning I found myself on the wrong side of the road while day dreaming. I failed my first driving tests in Japan when they decided to use a big army truck without power steering. I could not make a sharp turn with it. My second test was in a regular pickup and no problems with it.

 

[nice gaijin]

Despite all of the time I've spent in Japan, aside from one time driving a truck on private property (a farm) I have never driven in Japan, and never even bothered to get an international license. Their public transportation is just that good, and the only times I've needed a car I've had a friend who could drive for us.

The only time I've tasted driving on the left was during a trip to South Africa and Namibia a few years ago. I was surprised how easily I adapted to driving on the other side of the road, but we were constantly mixing up the turn signal and windshield wiper controls.

 

[thomas]

Last Friday, the Tokyo District Court sentenced Kozo Iizuka, the 92-year-old former chief of the now-defunct Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, to pay around 140 million JPY (USD 932,000) to bereaved family members of the accident that sparked a debate on elderly drivers in rapidly greying Japan. The court ruled that he had demonstrated "unilateral and significant negligence" in the accident by continuing to press the gas pedal.

Furthermore, the defendant "did not even try to offer an apology and continued with unreasonable excuses until the ruling in the criminal case was handed down," said Presiding Judge Kaoru Hirayama. According to the final ruling, Iizuka ran a red light after mistaking the gas pedal for the brake, hitting and killing Mana Matsunaga, 31, and her 3-year-old daughter Riko, as they were cycling through a crosswalk in Tokyo's Ikebukuro area on 19 April 2019. Nine others were injured in the incident. How much weight would be given to the severity of the accident and Iizuka's negligence in determining the amount of compensation was the point of contention in the case. Nine plaintiffs, including Takuya Matsunaga, 37, who lost his wife and child in the accident, had sought around 170 million yen in total damages. They argued that Iizuka's neglect of "a fundamental duty of care" by not applying the brakes on a road with clear visibility was "malicious." The court awarded damages to Matsunaga, his parents and the father of his late wife.

92-year-old driver ordered to pay 140 million yen over fatal Tokyo crash

A 92-year-old former top bureaucrat sentenced to five years in prison over a fatal Tokyo car accident in 2019 is ordered to pay around 140 million yen ($932,000) to bereaved family and other victims of the accident that sparked a debate on elderly drivers in rapidly graying Japan.

english.kyodonews.net

 

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

Kozo Iizuka (93) of the Ikebukuro reckless driving accident dies.



It was revealed that Kozo Iizuka, who drove a car, died because of the senility of the accident in a vehicle drove recklessly in Tokyo, Ikebukuro, and two people were killed. He was 93 years old.

In 2019, a car drove recklessly in Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, and Matsunaga Mana (31) and Riko (3) of the daughter died, and nine people suffered serious or slight injuries. Kozo Iizuka, who drove a car, insisted on "the cause of the reckless driving with the trouble of the car" in court, but a prison sentence of five five-year imprisonment was announced, and the sentence was served at prison. According to the person concerned, Iizuka, he died because of senility on 26 November. He was 93 years old.

Mana Takuya, husband.

Takuya Matsunaga
"I entered the prison (as for Iizuka). Though I expected it, he would reach the last moments of his life in prison. After all, it is a very complicated feeling when I think I will regret it."

In a letter of apology from Iizuka, which Takuya received this February, the contents admitted that it was the misstepping of the accelerator, which was written as brakes. In May, a meeting with Iizuka was held, and Iizuka told you, "I want you to tell to return a license to an old driver early."

Takuya Matsunaga
It "was good to be able to talk face-to-face before he died. Because he met thought for the prevention of my recurrence, it was not only anger or hatred and made the opportunity when I could live with feelings. I thank you in this sense." It is said that Matsunaga wants to waste neither a wife and daughter nor the death of Iizuka.

Takuya Matsunaga
"I think his regret or experience had you entrust it with words. Do not waste his regret. I know the reality of the traffic accident, and many people know this reality. I have these on me. While there is own life continuing it."

 

[thomas]

If only he had admitted his fault immediately instead of blaming the brakes. The tide turned against him when it became clear that he expected privileged treatment based on his position as a former high-ranking technocrat. Before his passing, he seems to have apologised to Mr Mana, who will hopefully find peace one day.