The 12th hearing in the national compensation case involving Mr. Suraj has concluded.

On Wednesday, October 23, 2013, at 10:00 AM, the 12th hearing of the national compensation lawsuit in the case of Mr. Suraj was held. In the morning, a specialist doctor in the heart disease (cystic tumor of the atrioventricular node: hereinafter referred to as CTAVN), which is considered to be the cause of Mr. Suraj's death, was questioned. In the afternoon, the doctor who determined the cause of Mr. Suraj's death was questioned, followed by the questioning of Mr. Suraj's wife, the plaintiff.

The focus of this episode was the questioning of Dr. Ikeda, who, after more than two years, definitively determined that the cause of Ms. Suraj's death, which was initially unknown, was CTAVN, a condition she had been suffering from.

From the beginning of the questioning, Dr. Ikeda asserted with 100% certainty that CTAVN was the cause of death. He stated that one of the conditions for determining death by asphyxiation is that there is no other clear cause of death, and since there was another clear cause of death (CTAVN) in this case, it was not death by asphyxiation. However, there have been cases of people living to around 90 years old with CTAVN, so when asked why he could definitively say that having CTAVN meant that the cause of death in this case was CTAVN, he replied, "Because he died," a statement that was completely unconvincing even to an observer who had no medical knowledge.
Furthermore, there were some rather harsh remarks, such as "Since CTAVN exists, there's no need to consider other causes of death," and "It was his time to die at that moment," which drew criticism from the audience.
These statements by Dr. Ikeda seemed to have fostered a growing sense of doubt among the spectators regarding the cause of Suraj's death.

During the subsequent questioning of the wife, she directly stated what she most wanted to convey to the judge, saying things like, "I felt that my husband was not being treated as a human being (based on the content of the previous questioning by immigration officials)," and "I hope I will be the last person to have to go through such pain."
At the debriefing session after the trial, the defense team reported that they had largely succeeded in eliciting the statements they had hoped to hear during the questioning, and they shared the intention to move forward with their efforts towards the final arguments.

The next closing argument isMonday, February 3, 2014, 3:00 PM, Courtroom 705 (Courtroom subject to change)It will be held at [location].
Please invite your friends and family to come and attend the final arguments.