Kozo Iizuka

Kozo Iizuka (飯塚 幸三, Iizuka Kozo[1], IPA: [iizuka ko(d)zoː]; born 1931) is a Japanese engineer who served as Director of the AIST[2] and President of International Measurement Confederation,[3] and Human Frontier Science Program[3] among other positions. On April 19, 2019, he injured nine pedestrians and killed a woman and her child, who were riding a bicycle, while driving his car.

The police didn’t arrest Iizuka based on the justification that he was hospitalized for a month. He was discharged from hospital on May 19, 2019, but was never arrested, and the police forwarded his case to prosecutors only six months later, on November 12. This followed a campaign by victims' families to have the police prosecute Iizuka in a criminal case, and which gained the support of over 390,000 people across Japan. Iizuka was finally indicted on February 6, 2020, yet still without having been formally arrested.[4]

This apparent leniency afforded Iizuka drew criticism that he was being treated as a notional "high-class Japanese citizen" (Japanese: 上級国民, Hepburn: jōkyū kokumin), because of his status as a former senior government official.

Overview

Life

Iizuka Kozo was born in Nakano in Tokyo in 1931.[5] He graduated from the Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tokyo. He became a Doctor of Engineering in 1972.[6]

In 2015, he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure for Achievements in International Trade and Industry administrative affairs.[1]

Car accident

On April 19, 2019, while driving his Toyota Prius in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo, Iizuka ran a red light and struck and killed a mother and daughter who were on a bicycle (Mana Matsunaga, 31, and her daughter Riko, 3), and injured eight others at a pedestrian crossing, and his wife, who was riding with him. The reported cause of the accident was Iizuka stepping on the accelerator when he meant to apply the brake.[7][8] About a year before the incident, Iizuka received treatment on his right knee and was advised by his doctor to drive as little as possible.[9]

In spite of Iizuka having caused a fatal accident, he was not arrested. Police stated that this was because Iizuka was injured at the scene, was elderly, and hence not expected to run away or attempt to destroy evidence.[10]

However, in similar accidents caused by elderly drivers that have occurred in Japan following Iizuka's, all of the suspects have been arrested almost immediately, regardless of their age and state of health. This has led to widespread scrutiny and criticism of the police in Japan in regard to how impartially they enforce the law.[11]

One of the victim's parents started a campaign for the police to prosecute Iizuka in line with normal practice. 390,000 signatures were collected and the petition handed to National Police Agency of Japan.[12]

Finally, the Traffic Investigation Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department referred Iizuka to prosecutors on November 12, 2019, on suspicion of causing fatal injury by negligent driving. He claimed that there was a mechanical problem with the brake and/or accelerator, but vehicle function tests revealed no mechanical defects, so the Metropolitan Police Department concluded that negligent driving by Iizuka was the cause of the accident.[13] On Feb. 2020, he was prosecuted.

Following the accident, Iizuka is reported to have explained that he was hurrying in his car to a French restaurant he had made a lunch reservation at, concerned that he and his wife would be late.[14]

See also
  • Higashi-Ikebukuro Runaway Car Accident

References
  1. 平成２７年秋の叙勲
  2. 平成27年秋の叙勲受章者が決定されました 2015/11/04 AIST
  3. 地域科学技術政策フォーラム（第６回）の開催について 1997/09/24 Science and Technology Agency
  4. Ex-bureaucrat indicted without arrest over fatal car crash in Tokyo 2020/2/6 Mainichi Japan
  5. 精密工学会誌2007年10月号
  6. Dr. Kozo Iizuka (飯塚幸三)行政院科技会報
  7. Human error suspected in fatal car crash in Tokyo Archived 2019-05-08 at the Wayback Machine 2019/4/21 Mainichi Japan
  8. Tabrak 2 Orang hingga Tewas, Mantan Pejabat di Jepang Belum Ditahan2019/5/2 tribunnews.com
  9. "池袋事故：医師から「運転を控えるよう」指示受けてた 高齢者ニュース". 高齢者ニュース. 2019-04-27. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  10. "（西日本新聞オピニオン 春秋）「上級国民」…". Nishinihon Shinbun. Nishinihon Shinbunsha. 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  11. "捜査関係者「ネット上の批判は把握している」池袋暴走 - 産経ニュース". 産経ニュース. Sangyoukeizai Shinbunsha. 2019-04-23. pp. 1 - 2頁. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  12. "池袋暴走の遺族、厳罰求める署名３９万筆を地検に提出". 朝日新聞デジタル. Asahi Sinbun. 2019-09-20.
  13. No problems found in car crashed by 87-year-old in Tokyo's Ikebukuro, killing two 2019-05-08 Japan Times
  14. 池袋暴走事故「フレンチに遅れる」と供述の元院長にネットでは怒りの声 2019-11-13 Livedoor
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