Four court-appointed lawyers on April 23 indicted three former presidents of West Japan Railway Co. on charges of professional negligence in the April 25, 2005, commuter train accident on the Fukuchiyama Line in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, that killed 106 passengers plus the train driver and injured 562 others.
The indictments, which came a week before the expiration of the statute of limitations, was based on votes Oct. 7 and March 26 by the No. 1 Kobe Prosecution Inquest Committee, comprising 11 citizens.
In July 2009, prosecutors had indicted Mr. Masao Yamazaki, then JR West president, arguing that, as head of the firm's railways headquarters, he had been entrusted with the task of ensuring safety but failed to install an automatic train-stop system (ATS) along the sharp-curve section in Amagasaki that the train entered at 115 kph. The curve radius had been reduced from 600 meters to 304 meters in December 1996 to connect the line with a new line in March 1997.