Former defendants who were charged with violation of the Public Offices Election Law and eventually found innocent have filed a damages lawsuit with the Kagoshima District Court, invoking the State Tort Liability Law. Twelve former defendants and five family members of a dead former defendant demand that the state and Kagoshima Prefecture pay a total of ¥286 million in compensation. The court must do its best to clarify how investigators built a false charge against these people.
Mr. Shinichi Nakayama was elected for the first time to the Kagoshima prefectural assembly in April 2003. But investigators alleged that he and others held four meetings in February and March that year and handed ¥1.91 million to 11 voters to buy their votes. A total of 13 people including Mr. Nakayama were arrested and indicted. During the trial, all the defendants denied their part in the crime.
In a February 2007 ruling, the Kagoshima District Court found all the defendants innocent and the Kagoshima District Public Prosecutors Office gave up their appeal of the ruling. The court said there was no concrete evidence to support the public prosecutors' allegation. It even said Mr. Nakayama had an alibi and that the existence of two of the meetings was dubious.