Dear Supporters,

Thank you very much for your continued support. I look forward to your continued support this year.

As we have updated you on the progress of the trial, the trial proceedings regarding Ezo-san's newborn baby mix-up are finally reaching their climax, with questioning of Ezo-san and the expert witness (Professor Shin) scheduled to take place on Monday, January 20th at 1pm in Courtroom 712 of the Tokyo District Court. As the proceedings have mainly been conducted in closed pre-trial proceedings, we have not had many opportunities to update our supporters on the progress. The date for the questioning was officially decided towards the end of the year, so we apologize for the sudden announcement at the start of the new year.

It is worth noting that the court accepted the request of not only Mr. Ezo himself, but also Professor Shin Hyebong (Aoyama Gakuin University, Faculty of Law), an expert in international human rights law, as a witness in this interrogation. From the beginning, this case has been raised as an issue of "the right of a child to know his/her origins" (Article 7, Paragraph 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child), but looking at the precedents of the European Court of Human Rights, it has become clear that it is also an issue of "the right not to be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with the family" (Article 17, Paragraph 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) and the right to family unity (Article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child). In addition, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government was found liable for damages (liability for breach of the delivery contract) for the switching of the newborn baby in the previous lawsuit (Tokyo High Court ruling in 2006), but it has become clear that this alone does not fulfill the "effective remedy" required by international human rights treaties (Article 2, Paragraph 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), the "obligation to provide assistance and protection to restore a child's identity when it has been unlawfully taken away" (Article 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child), and the "obligation to ensure that a child is not separated from his or her parents against their will" (Article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child). In other words, no matter how much monetary compensation is paid, as long as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government does not conduct the necessary investigation into Ezo-san's birth parents, it will not have provided effective remedy to Ezo-san.

In preparation for the day of questioning, we would like to hear from Mr. Ezo himself again to gain a deeper understanding of the unimaginable damage he suffered as a result of the newborn baby mix-up. We would also like to have the opportunity to report to you all on the various issues that have been raised in the proceedings so far (such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's investigation methods and the above-mentioned issues related to international human rights).

We apologize for the short notice, but we will be holding an online report session this Saturday (January 11th) from 4pm. No registration is required, so please join us at the ZOOM link below when the time comes. We look forward to seeing you there.

■Ezo-san baby mix-up incident report session

[Date and time] Saturday, January 11, 2025, from 16:00 (up to 1 hour)

[Location] ZOOM Meeting ID: 875 1195 9718 (Passcode: 676648)

*When the time comes, please enter via the link below (no registration required).

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87511959718?pwd=BnXvUxb41bdhzSKk8u9kd2fAXvGtyD.1

[Speakers] Mr. Ezo, Attorney Yuichi Kaito, Attorney Ryutaro Ogawa

[Content] Attorney Umidori Yuichi will act as moderator, and Mr. Ezo and attorney Ogawa Ryutaro will report on the progress of the trial.

*The legal costs will increase due to the preparation of expert opinions and witness examinations. We apologize for the inconvenience, but we would appreciate your support in the form of donations.

Dear Supporters,

Thank you for your help. This is ogawa from the defense team.

Regarding this matter, we are currently preparing arguments with the court and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and we are proceeding with legal and factual investigations so that Mr. Ezo can meet his biological parents. During this time, the Liberal Democratic Party's Hanako Jimi, the Liberal Democratic Party's Rio Tomono, the Constitutional Democratic Party's Shoichi Kondo, and the Japanese Communist Party's Taku Yamazoe. ) and Mizuho Fukushima of the Social Democratic Party, I held multiple interviews with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the Children and Family Affairs Agency, and the Legislative Bureau of the House of Councillors. In the past, even though the existence of a baby mix-up case like this one was vaguely recognized, no one tried to address it head-on. It became clear that there was no plan, and it became clear that the victims were in a situation where they were truly left behind by society, and the roads to relief were almost completely closed. Can the courts serve as the last bastion of human rights?

We, the defense team, are finding almost no precedents to refer to, and although we are fumbling, we are working head-to-head with Mr. Ezo to prepare the document. Thank you for your continued support.

Defendant submitted a counter-argument to Tokyo's answer (plaintiff's first brief).

I uploaded the answer and the plaintiff's first brief to the proceedings.

Dear Supporters

 Thank you for your warm support. I am Ryutaro Ogawa, a lawyer who is co-lawyer of this case with Mr. Kaido.

 Although the date designation was delayed due to the communication with the court regarding the partial correction of the complaint, the date of the first oral argument will be opened by statutory No. 712 from 14:00 on Monday, February 21, 2022. I did. On the day of the event, Mr. Egura himself and his attorney-at-law will make oral statements. If it is convenient for you, we would appreciate it if you could come to the courtroom for hearing. After that, I will easily report the due date on the spot.)

 Currently, in parallel with the proceedings, with the cooperation of members of the Diet, we are working on legislation to recover from the damage caused by the baby mix-up case. Former Minister of Justice Hideo Hiraoka is also cooperating in this regard. We will also report on the relationship between these legislative activities.

Thank you for your continued support.