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Kozo Iizuka

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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, in what is called the Higashi-Ikebukuro runaway car accident.

The police did not 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 widespread criticism that he was being treated as a notional "upper-class citizen" (Japanese: 上級国民, Hepburn: jōkyū kokumin), to whom regular rules do not apply. Many people pointed out that regular people, without such status or influence, are arrested immediately by the Japanese police, while the Japanese police did not arrest Kozo Iizuka because of his stature in society.[5]

The treatment which Iizuka received resulted in the term "upper-class citizen" trending[6][7] Due to the perceived unrepentance of Iizuka, interest on the case continued past 2019 and remained strong as of October 2020. [8]


Overview

Life and career

Iizuka Kozo was born in Nakano in Tokyo in 1931.[9] He graduated from the Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tokyo. He became a Doctor of Engineering in 1972.[10]

He was a president of National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (旧称 in ja：工業技術院)[11] and a vice president of Kubota (ja:クボタ) corporation. Also he was once one of chairmen of the committees held by Science Council of Japan (ja:日本学術会議).[12]

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

Higashi-Ikebukuro runaway 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.[13][14] 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.[15]

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.[16]

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 just how impartially they are when enforcing the law.[17]

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.[18]

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.[19] On February 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.[20]

Hearings began on 8th October 2020, in which Iizuka continued to deny the charges, claiming that the car had malfunctioned, and saying that has no memory of accelerating the car. [21][22][23]

In interviews with the media, the husband and father to the woman and girl killed by Iizuka criticized how Iizuka did not look him in the eyes when apologizing to him, and also questioned the honesty behind the apology, given how Iizuka continued to claim that he was not at fault. [24]

The case had an unusual amount of attention due to the apparent leniency Iizuka was treated with, drawing criticism that he was being treated as a notional "upper-class citizen" (Japanese: 上級国民, Hepburn: jōkyū kokumin), to whom regular rules do not apply. Many people pointed out that regular people, without such status or influence, are arrested immediately by the Japanese police, while the Japanese police did not arrest Kozo Iizuka because of his stature in society.[25][26]

In analyzing the reactions to the incident, Toyo Keizai commentator Atsushi Manabe writes that Iizuka's actions after the accident represent him as a brazen and shameless psychopath. As a result, the case represents to people how unapologetic liars and coldblooded psychopaths succeed more than regular honest people, which goes against the zeitgeist of the common people and is a form of moral hazard, and this is why they feel disgust and anger at it.[27][28]

Manabe also writes that to many people, the case represents how Japanese law no longer functions as it should, with criminals being able to get away with their crimes by using their privileged positions in society.[29]

Japanese Wikipedia article controversy

Attention was also brought to Iizuka's Japanese Wikipedia article, which goes in-depth into his accomplishments, but has no mention of the incident. A small group of users constantly removed edits regarding the incident, before finally protecting the article so that nobody else could edit it. When brought up on the article's talk page, they cited this as being "the result of discussion by the community". Though the topic has been brought up multiple times since, with twelve of the thirteen topics on the talk page as of 8 October 2020 questioning the decision, all such attempts at discussion were answered with the same users saying that the topic has already been discussed and decided upon by "the community". The problems with the Wikipedia article were widely discussed on social media, and subsequently reported on by the Japanese news media, including major outlets such as Asahi Shimbun[30], which questioned the decision of the Wikipedia users. However, many of these articles also refuted the notion regularly brought up by people on social media that this was the result of Iizuka exerting his influence on Wikipedia, pointing out that Wikipedia is edited by volunteers. As of 8 October 2020, the page remains protected with no mention of the incident.[31][32]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ 玲, 橘 (August 1, 2019). 小学館新書 上級国民／下級国民. Tookyoo: Shogakkan (小学館). ISBN 9784098253548.
  6. ^ "「令和」「上級国民」「タピる」「にわかファン」　流行語大賞、候補の３０語発表" ['Reiwa,' 'Upper-Class Citizen,' 'Tapiru', 'Niwaka Fan': The 30 Nominations for the Trending Word Prize Announced]. The Sankei News. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  7. ^ "大辞泉の新語大賞2019は「イートイン脱税」に決定" ['Eat-In Tax Evasion' Chosen as Daijisen New Word of the Year 2019]. Otakuma Keizei Shimbun. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  8. ^ Manabe, Atsushi (14 October 2020). "池袋暴走｢上級国民批判｣異常なほど沸騰する訳" [Ikebukuro runaway: Why criticism of upper-class citizens is so strong]. Toyo Keizai. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  9. ^ [1]精密工学会誌2007年10月号
  10. ^ Dr. Kozo Iizuka (飯塚幸三)行政院科技会報
  11. ^ "歴代工業技術院長による座談会 (特集:これからの「産業技術総合研究所」について)".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ http://www.scj.go.jp/ja/info/kohyo/17htm/17_27.html
  13. ^ Human error suspected in fatal car crash in Tokyo Archived 2019-05-08 at the Wayback Machine 2019/4/21 Mainichi Japan
  14. ^ Tabrak 2 Orang hingga Tewas, Mantan Pejabat di Jepang Belum Ditahan2019/5/2 tribunnews.com
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ "（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.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ No problems found in car crashed by 87-year-old in Tokyo's Ikebukuro, killing two 2019-05-08 Japan Times
  20. ^ 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
  21. ^ 元院長が起訴内容を否認 2020-10-08 Kyodo News
  22. ^ 東京・池袋暴走「車の異常」　８９歳被告、無罪を主張　東京地裁初公判 2020-10-09 Mainichi Shimbun
  23. ^ “上級国民”池袋暴走事故「否認」の衝撃　車のせい？裁判の行方と思わぬ余波 2020-10-08 Asahi Shimbun
  24. ^ 池袋事故遺族、否認飯塚被告に「謝られたくない」 2020-10-08 Nikkan Sports
  25. ^ 玲, 橘 (August 1, 2019). 小学館新書 上級国民／下級国民. Tookyoo: Shogakkan (小学館). ISBN 9784098253548.
  26. ^ 池袋暴走｢上級国民批判｣異常なほど沸騰する訳|trans-title=Ikebukuro runaway: Why criticism of upper-class citizens is so strong | 2020-10-14 Toyo Keizai
  27. ^ 飯塚被告はこれまでも「アクセルが戻らなかった」などと自身の過失を否定する発言を繰り返しており、およそ半年後の11月にテレビの取材に対し、「安全な車を開発するようにメーカーの方に心がけていただき、高齢者が安心して運転できるような、外出できるような世の中になってほしい」と語るなど、火に油を注ぐ事態をあえて作り出しているようなところがあった。Manabe, Atsushi (14 October 2020). "池袋暴走｢上級国民批判｣異常なほど沸騰する訳" [Ikebukuro runaway: Why criticism of upper-class citizens is so strong]. Toyo Keizai. Retrieved 2020-10-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  28. ^ わたしたちはマスメディアが流す情報の断片から、「厚顔無恥の勝利」といったモラルハザード（倫理の欠如）の腐臭を嗅ぎとっていることは間違いないだろう。だからこそこの事件が特別なものに思えるのであり、不快感や怒りの感情が沸き起こりやすいのである。Manabe, Atsushi (14 October 2020). "池袋暴走｢上級国民批判｣異常なほど沸騰する訳" [Ikebukuro runaway: Why criticism of upper-class citizens is so strong]. Toyo Keizai. Retrieved 2020-10-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  29. ^ 池袋暴走事件で上級国民と表現される疑心暗鬼の背景にあったのは、現在の社会が嘘や不正が公然とまかり通る「法の機能不全」に陥っている可能性と、それがむしろ新しい規範として定着しつつあることへの危機意識だと思われる。要は、犯罪者が特権的な地位を利用し、弁を弄して罪を逃れられる「法の機能していない社会」が出現したようなイメージである。これが実質的に「法体系をもたない社会」のようなカオス（混沌）として映り始めているとしたらどうだろうか。Manabe, Atsushi (14 October 2020). "池袋暴走｢上級国民批判｣異常なほど沸騰する訳" [Ikebukuro runaway: Why criticism of upper-class citizens is so strong]. Toyo Keizai. Retrieved 2020-10-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  30. ^ ウィキペディアで加筆と削除の応酬　池袋暴走事故めぐり 2020-09-25 Asahi Shimbun
  31. ^ 【池袋暴走事故】飯塚幸三被告が大炎上！ ウィキペディア編集不可能で「賞賛」のみ掲載 / 事故詳細には名前記載せず 2020-10-08 Buzz Plus News
  32. ^ ウィキペディアで加筆と削除の応酬　池袋暴走事故めぐり 2020-09-25 Asahi Shimbun
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