Nondisclosure of Prosecutor Tenure Extension Records Reversed

   Osaka, June 28 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese court has reversed the Justice Ministry's decision not to disclose records related to its move to delay the retirement of Hiromu Kurokawa, former head of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office.
   Osaka District Court reached the decision Thursday in a lawsuit filed by Hiroshi Kamiwaki, professor at Kobe Gakuin University, who contended that the ministry's refusal to disclose records on its reinterpretation of a law for the postponement was illegal.
   Presiding Judge Atsushi Tokuchi found that "the interpretation was changed in order to extend Kurokawa's tenure."
   Previously, the public prosecutors office law set the retirement age for prosecutors, excluding the prosecutor-general, at 63.
   In January 2020, however, the administration of then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided to delay Kurokawa's retirement beyond the limit by changing the government's interpretation of the law. Kurokawa was said to be close to the Abe administration.

(2024/06/28-09:18)

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