Japan Supreme Court rejects appeal in prosecutor-insult case; ¥1.1m award stands
In short
Japan's Supreme Court rejected a former lawyer's appeal in a case over insulting questioning by a prosecutor, leaving lower-court judgments ordering the state to pay ¥1.1 million in compensation in place. The October 14 decision also left intact the lower courts' rejection of his claim that continued questioning violated his right to remain silent.
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Japan's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by former lawyer Yamato Eguchi (江口大和), 40, in a compensation case over a prosecutor's insulting questioning. The Second Petty Bench's decision, dated October 14, left in place lower-court judgments ordering the state to pay ¥1.1 million while rejecting his claim that continued interrogation violated his right to remain silent. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
According to the lower-court findings cited by the newspapers, Eguchi was arrested in 2018 on suspicion of inducing someone to conceal an offender. During questioning by a Yokohama District Public Prosecutors Office prosecutor, he was subjected to remarks describing him as a brat and his thinking as childish. Asahi reported that the prosecutor also accused him of being prone to lying. The questioning lasted about 56 hours, according to Asahi; Mainichi described the total as more than 56 hours over 21 days before indictment. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
The Tokyo District Court ruled in July 2024 that the prosecutor had repeatedly attacked Eguchi's personal qualities and abilities as a lawyer through insulting language. It found the questioning unlawful and ordered compensation. It nevertheless concluded that continuing to question him after he said he would remain silent did not itself violate that right. The Tokyo High Court upheld that conclusion in February 2025. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
Eguchi's appeal argued that continued questioning after an explicit decision to remain silent should be treated as effectively compelling a statement. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal on the grounds that it did not meet the requirements for such an appeal, the reports said. Mainichi noted that the state had not appealed the district-court judgment and that its compensation liability had already become final. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
Why it matters
The lower courts found the prosecutor's repeated personal insults unlawful but did not find that continuing to question a silent suspect itself violated his rights. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal without issuing a separate substantive ruling on that question, according to the reports.
Key facts
- The Supreme Court's Second Petty Bench dismissed the former lawyer's appeal in a decision dated October 14. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
- The lower courts ordered the state to pay ¥1.1 million over insulting questioning. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
- The plaintiff is former lawyer Yamato Eguchi (江口大和), 40. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
- The lower courts did not find that questioning him after he expressed an intention to remain silent violated his right to silence. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
- The Tokyo District Court ruled in July 2024 and the Tokyo High Court upheld the conclusion in February 2025. [ 1 , 2 ]