Japanese man's case puts 'hostage justice' in international spotlight

Key points

• The family of Aishima Shizuo, a Japanese engineer who died in detention, has asked a United Nations working group to investigate whether his detention violated international law. He was arrested in 2020 over alleged export breaches, and his bail requests were repeatedly rejected.
• He was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died before the case against him was dropped in 2023, when the arrests were deemed illegal. His family and lawyers say his case reflects a wider problem they call hostage justice, where suspects are held to obtain confessions.
• The Japanese government has rejected such criticism.