Former Top Osaka Prosecutor Arrested for Alleged Sex Crime

   Osaka, June 25 (Jiji Press)--The Osaka High Public Prosecutors Office on Tuesday arrested Kentaro Kitagawa, a 64-year-old former head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office, on suspicion of constructive forcible sexual intercourse.
   The high prosecutors office did not reveal whether Kitagawa admitted to the allegation. It also did not disclose details of the case, including when and where it happened, citing the victim's privacy.
   An informed source said that the case is believed to have occurred when Kitagawa was head of the district prosecutors office from February 2018 to November 2019.
   Kitagawa became a public prosecutor in 1985 and spent much of his career in the Kansai western Japan region. Before being appointed to the top post at the Osaka district prosecutors office, he served as head of the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office, deputy head of the Osaka high prosecutors office and chief of the criminal investigation division of the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office. Since retiring, he has assumed corporate auditor and other positions.
   "It is very regrettable that someone who held a key prosecutor post was arrested," said Tsunekazu Kobashi, deputy head of the Osaka high prosecutors office. "We will consider the final punishment after completing the investigation properly."

(2024/06/25-17:59)

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