Japan NPO Exec Gets 8 Months for Unauthorized Organ Transplant Brokering

From Jiji 

November 28 2023

TOKYO – Tokyo District Court sentenced an executive of a Japanese nonprofit organization to eight months in prison Tuesday for unauthorized brokering of organ transplants. 

Presiding Judge Yoshiro Baba handed down the ruling to Hiromichi Kikuchi, 63. Prosecutors had sought a one-year term and a fine of 1 million yen.

The judge fined the NPO that supports patients of intractable diseases 1 million yen, as had been sought by the prosecution.

In the trial, the prosecutors argued that Japan’s organ transplant law prohibits the brokering of organ transplants in the country without the health minister’s permission.

Meanwhile, the defense demanded acquittal, claiming that the defendant’s actions did not constitute organ transplant brokering under the law partly because related operations took place outside of the country.