Kozo Iizuka (飯塚 幸三, Iizuka Kōzō, IPA: [iizuka koː(d)zoː]; born 1931)[1] is a Japanese engineer who served as Director of the AIST[2] and President of the International Measurement Confederation[3] and Human Frontier Science Program[3] among other positions. On April 19, 2019, while driving his car, he killed a woman and her child, who were on a bicycle, and injured nine pedestrians in what is called the Higashi-Ikebukuro runaway car crash. Following the crash, perceived special treatment of him by the police, legal system and media, ostensibly due to his privileged position in society, drew much attention and criticism.

Life and career

He was born in Nakano in Tokyo in 1931.[4] He graduated from the University of Tokyo. He became a Doctor of Engineering in 1972.[5]

He was president of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology[6] and vice-president of Kubota corporation. While vice-president of Kubota, he also served as chairperson of a committee of the Science Council of Japan.[7]

Higashi-Ikebukuro runaway car crash and trial

On April 19, 2019, while driving his Toyota Prius in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo, Iizuka ran a red light and struck and killed a mother and daughter who were on a bicycle (Mana Matsunaga, 31, and her daughter Riko, 3), injured eight others at a pedestrian crossing, and his wife, who was riding with him. The reported cause of the crash was Iizuka stepping on the accelerator when he meant to apply the brake.[8][9] About a year before the incident, Iizuka had received treatment on his right knee and was advised by his doctor to drive as little as possible.[10]

In spite of Iizuka having caused a fatal crash, he was not arrested. Police stated that this was because Iizuka was injured at the scene and was elderly, and hence was not expected to run away or attempt to destroy evidence.[11] However, in similar crashes caused by elderly drivers that have occurred in Japan following Iizuka's, each and every suspect has been arrested almost immediately, regardless of their age and state of health. This has led to widespread scrutiny and criticism of the police in Japan in regard to just how impartially they enforce the law.[12]

One of the victim's parents started a campaign demanding that police prosecute Iizuka in line with normal practice and 390,000 signatures were collected. The petition was submitted to the National Police Agency of Japan.[13] Finally, on November 12, 2019, the Traffic Investigation Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department referred Iizuka to prosecutors on suspicion of causing fatal injury by negligent driving. Iizuka claimed that there was a mechanical problem with the brake and/or accelerator, but vehicle function tests revealed no mechanical defects. The Metropolitan Police Department concluded that negligent driving by Iizuka was the cause of the crash.[14] In February 2020, he was prosecuted.

Following the crash, Iizuka is reported to have explained that he was hurrying in his car to a French restaurant where he had made a lunch reservation, concerned that he and his wife would be late.[15]

Hearings began on 8 October 2020, in which Iizuka continued to deny the charges, claiming that the car had malfunctioned, and saying that he had no memory of accelerating the car.[16][17][18] On 4 March 2021, a 25 year veteran engineer from the car's manufacturer testified that they found no problems with the car's parts, but the defendant continued to profess that it was a malfunction.[19][20][21] Iizuka continued to insist that he did nothing wrong at the trial on June 21, 2021.[22]

Iizuka's closing statement at the trial was that he "did not remember mistaking the accelerator for the brakes". The prosecution asked for seven years of incarceration at the sentencing hearing on July 15, 2021, the maximum allowed for the charge of manslaughter caused by negligent driving.

Iizuka was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment on 2 September 2021 by the Tokyo Regional Court.[23] Neither Iizuka nor the prosecutors appealed the sentence by the deadline of September 17, so the sentence was confirmed.[24] The husband/father of the woman and girl killed by Iizuka, Takuya Matsunaga, commented saying that while it does not feel sufficient given how Iizuka spent the last two years making nonsensical claims, it is the maximum allowed, and that he is thankful to the prosecution for it.[25]

Iizuka's 2015 medal, the Order of the Sacred Treasure for Administrative Services in International Trade and Industry, was revoked after he accepted a sentence of five years in prison.[26][27]

Public response

In interviews with the media, the husband and father of the woman and girl killed by Iizuka, Takuya Matsunaga, criticized Iizuka for not looking him in the eye when apologizing to him, and also questioned the sincerity of the apology, given how Iizuka continued to claim that he was not at fault.[28][29][30][31] The case drew an unusual amount of attention due to the apparent leniency Iizuka was treated with, and criticism that he was being treated as a notional "upper-class citizen" (Japanese: 上級国民, Hepburn: jōkyū kokumin), to whom regular rules do not apply. Many people pointed out that the Japanese police immediately arrest regular people, who are without such status or influence, but did not arrest Kozo Iizuka because of his social standing until pressured to do so by the public.[32]

In analyzing the reactions to the incident, Toyo Keizai commentator Atsushi Manabe writes that Iizuka's words and actions after the crash "added fuel to the fire", and as a result the case represents to people how unapologetic liars and coldblooded psychopaths succeed more than regular honest people, which goes against the zeitgeist of the common people. Manabe further writes that this "victory of brazen shamelessness" represents a loss of morals, and is why people feel disgust and anger.,[32] and that, to many people, the case represents how Japanese law no longer functions as it should, with criminals being able to get away with their crimes by using their privileged positions in society.[32] The case renewed attention regarding the problem of crashes caused by elderly drivers[33][34] which was a pre-existing topic for several years before.[35] It was reported that in the aftermath of the crash, more elderly people voluntarily surrendered their driver licenses.[36][37]

A documentary covering the case aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System Television on 4 April 2021.[38]

Japanese Wikipedia article controversy

Attention was also brought to Iizuka's article in Japanese Wikipedia, which goes in-depth into his accomplishments, but had no mention of the incident at the time in September 2020. Whether the incident should be mentioned on the article resulted in edit wars and discussions that were subsequently reported by Asahi Shimbun.[39]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "平成２７年秋の叙勲" (PDF).
  2. ↑ 平成27年秋の叙勲受章者が決定されました 2015/11/04 AIST
  3. 1 2 地域科学技術政策フォーラム（第６回）の開催について 1997/09/24 Science and Technology Agency
  4. ↑ https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jjspe/73/10/73_10_1131/_pdf 精密工学会誌2007年10月号
  5. ↑ Dr. Kozo Iizuka (飯塚幸三) Archived 2020-11-07 at the Wayback Machine 行政院科技会報
  6. ↑ 誠一, 石坂; 幸三, 飯塚; 賢, 杉浦 (November 2000). "歴代工業技術院長による座談会 (特集:これからの「産業技術総合研究所」について)". Industrial Science and Technology. 41 (11): 1–13.
  7. ↑ "標準研究連絡委員会". www.scj.go.jp.
  8. ↑ "Human error suspected in fatal car crash in Tokyo". Mainichi Shimbun. 2019-04-21. Archived from the original on 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  9. ↑ "Tabrak 2 Orang hingga Tewas, Mantan Pejabat di Jepang Belum Ditahan". Tribunnews.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  10. ↑ "池袋事故：医師から「運転を控えるよう」指示受けてた 高齢者ニュース". 高齢者ニュース. 2019-04-27. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  11. ↑ "（西日本新聞オピニオン 春秋）「上級国民」…". Nishinihon Shinbun. Nishinihon Shinbunsha. 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  12. ↑ "捜査関係者「ネット上の批判は把握している」池袋暴走 - 産経ニュース". 産経ニュース. Sangyoukeizai Shinbunsha. 2019-04-23. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  13. ↑ "池袋暴走の遺族、厳罰求める署名３９万筆を地検に提出". 朝日新聞デジタル. Asahi Sinbun. 2019-09-20.
  14. ↑ "No problems found in car crashed by 87-year-old in Tokyo's Ikebukuro, killing two". The Japan Times. 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  15. ↑ "池袋暴走事故「フレンチに遅れる」と供述の元院長にネットでは怒りの声". ライブドアニュース (in Japanese). 2019-11-13. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  16. ↑ 元院長が起訴内容を否認 2020-10-08 Kyodo News
  17. ↑ 東京・池袋暴走「車の異常」　８９歳被告、無罪を主張　東京地裁初公判 2020-10-09 Mainichi Shimbun
  18. ↑ “上級国民”池袋暴走事故「否認」の衝撃　車のせい？裁判の行方と思わぬ余波 2020-10-08 Asahi Shimbun
  19. ↑ "池袋暴走事故裁判 技術者「車両の部品は正しく機能」│TBS NEWS「1万通の手紙 池袋暴走事故が問うもの」". TBS NEWS.
  20. ↑ "池袋暴走事故、車に異常はあったのか。メーカーの事故解析担当が証言【第6回公判・詳報】". ハフポスト. March 3, 2021.
  21. ↑ "トヨタ社員「車に不具合なかった」 東京都池袋の暴走事故（TOKYO MX）". Yahoo!ニュース.
  22. ↑ "【速報】「私の過失はない」池袋暴走事故 遺族が被告人質問｜TBS NEWS". news.tbs.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2021-06-21.
  23. ↑ "Ex-elite bureaucrat given 5-yr jail term over fatal Tokyo car crash". Mainichi Daily News. 2021-09-02. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
  24. ↑ 元院長、控訴しない意向　禁錮５年の実刑判決―池袋暴走事故 JIJI.COM
  25. ↑ "池袋暴走 被告に上限の禁錮7年求刑 遺族「法律で最大の刑罰を」（毎日新聞） - Yahoo!ニュース". news.yahoo.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2021-07-15.
  26. ↑ 勲章褫奪令|e-Gov法令検索
  27. ↑ 飯塚幸三氏の勲章「瑞宝重光章」が剥奪されていた…内閣府認める|弁護士ドットコムニュース
  28. ↑ 池袋事故遺族、否認飯塚被告に「謝られたくない」 2020-10-08 Nikkan Sports
  29. ↑ "妻と娘の命「無駄にしない」 池袋暴走事故の遺族男性、再発防止訴えた２年（産経新聞） - Yahoo!ニュース". news.yahoo.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2021-04-18.
  30. ↑ "池袋暴走事故から2年 「前向く」遺族支える慰霊碑の花：朝日新聞デジタル".
  31. ↑ "「車に何らかの異常」と無罪主張…池袋11人死傷事故初公判 飯塚幸三被告（89）に妻と娘を奪われた夫の思い".
  32. 1 2 3 "池袋暴走｢上級国民批判｣異常なほど沸騰する訳" [Ikebukuro runaway car incident: Why criticism of "upper-class citizens" has become so unusually heated]. Toyo Keizai. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  33. ↑ ""高齢"免許を定年制にすべきか？ マツダ福祉車両から見るミライ". ITmedia ビジネスオンライン.
  34. ↑ "高齢ドライバーの池袋暴走、車の安全技術普及契機に－遺族が要望". Bloomberg.com.
  35. ↑ "高齢ドライバーの安全運転について～75歳以上のドライバーのご家族や周囲の方へ～ | 安全運転ほっとNEWS". 東京海上日動火災保険.
  36. ↑ INC, SANKEI DIGITAL (2020-10-08). "免許返納は過去最多に 池袋事故初公判 事故後に法整備も". 産経ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  37. ↑ "池袋暴走事故から２年 遺族が事故現場訪れる｜NHK 首都圏のニュース". www3.nhk.or.jp. Archived from the original on 2021-04-19.
  38. ↑ "池袋暴走事故遺族・松永拓也さんに2年間密着 再発防止を求め39万人の署名を集める｜オリコン｜北國新聞". 北國新聞.
  39. ↑ ウィキペディアで加筆と削除の応酬　池袋暴走事故めぐり 2020-09-25 Asahi Shimbun (subscription required)
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