Osaka hospital starts police-requested autopsies under new law

September 25, 2017

OSAKA- An Osaka prefectural hospital started performing autopsies to investigate causes of death at police request in April for cases in which foul play is not strongly suspected, in response to a chronic shortage of anatomists in Japan. 

The Osaka Habikino Medical Center in western Japan became the first institution in the nation other than forensic medicine classes of university hospitals to perform autopsies for such cases under a new law on death causes and identity investigations, according to informed sources.

The law, enforced in April 2013, entitles institutions to perform autopsies without the consent of bereaved families if the police judge it necessary to investigate the causes of death even for people not suspected of having died as a result of foul play, which usually gives rise to the need to conduct judicial autopsies.

The new autopsy system was introduced to prevent the overlooking of criminal cases, after a sumo wrestler who was assaulted to death in 2007 was initially believed to have died from disease since the police did not request a judicial autopsy on his body. Jiji Press