Japanese Court Announces Verdict In Case Of Organ Transplantation In Belarus

Among the three Japanese who were operated on, only one survived.

The Tokyo District Court sentenced Hiromichi Kikuchi, who runs a non-profit organization that supports patients with intractable diseases. The man was sentenced to 8 months in prison for organizing organ transplants abroad without government permission, NHK reports.

The man was organizing organ transplant operations in Belarus. Prosecutors insisted he arranged operations for two patients without government permission. Kikuchi Hiromichi pleaded not guilty. The court also imposed a fine of 1 million yen on the non-profit organization.

Kikuchi appealed to a higher court.

The man was detained in February this year. He was officially accused in March.

Among three Japanese citizens operated on in Belarus, only a 50-year-old man survived. He underwent a kidney transplant surgery. He paid about 18.5 million yen for the service, more than double the market price, the police said.