Japanese authorities bowed and offered flowers at the grave of a businessman to apologise for wrongfully charging him with exporting potentially sensitive industrial machines.
Shizuo Aishima and three other executives were arrested for illegal exports in March 2020. He died of stomach cancer in February 2021, five months before the indictments were dropped.
His family was at his grave in Yokohama on Monday to accept the apology. However, his wife said she could not forgive those who were behind the charge.
Aishima's company sued for damages before a Tokyo court in September 2021, which ruled that the indictments were illegal and ordered compensation of 166 million yen ($1.12m; £835,000).
The charges stemmed from Ohkawara Kakohki's export of spray dryers, a machine that can turn liquids into powder, and which can be used in the military.
