Fifty years have passed since former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka was arrested in the Lockheed bribery scandal, prompting reflection on Japan's prosecutorial practices.
The scandal surfaced after a U.S. Senate hearing in February 1976 revealed Lockheed's sales efforts in Japan. Prosecutors arrested a former Marubeni chairman and others before detaining Tanaka on July 27 that year.
Tanaka maintained his innocence and was indicted on August 16. He received prison sentences in the first and second trials but died in 1993 while his appeal was pending.
Former prosecutor Noboru Matsuda recalled public encouragement during the investigation. Former defense lawyer Shozaburo Ishida criticized entrenched "special prosecutors' supremacy" and called for laws allowing lawyers at interrogations.
