Eight years ago, Seiji Shimomura could only watch as his 2-year-old son Tomohito was crushed to death by crowds at a fireworks show in Hyogo Prefecture. Ever since, he has campaigned for high-ranking police officials to be indicted over their role in the matter.
¡°We want the truth to be judged in public by the court,¡± Shimomura said in Akashi, where his son and 10 others died July 21, 2001. ¡°Pursuing this can help to prevent this kind of incident happening again.¡±
Prosecutors have three times refused to pursue the police chief and his deputy over the planning of the event. Now, they may have no choice. A law that took effect Thursday ends prosecutors¡¯ long-held control over indictments and hands it to a panel of 11 citizens, effectively a grand jury.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.