Crime
Money dispute said to have led wife to break husband's 54 violins
The estranged wife of a former violin maker broke into his house and destroyed 54 violins and 70 bows after they fought over payments for child support, prosecutors said Tuesday. In the opening session of the trial of Qin Yue at the Nagoya District Court, the prosecutors said Qin had… Read
32-year-old man arrested for setting fire to his apartment
An unemployed 32-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson after he set fire to an apartment in which he lived with his mother and 35-year-old brother in Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward. According to police, Kenji Kasuya set fire to the 7th-floor apartment in a 14-story building at around 2:50… Read
Music piracy on increase worldwide: industry group
Music piracy is on the increase worldwide, with 40 percent of users are accessing unlicensed music, up from 35 percent last year, the global recorded music industry group IFPI said. Internet search engines are making piracy easier, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said in a report on… Read
Man arrested on suspicion of killing wife after money argument
Police in Kumamoto City said Tuesday they have arrested a 48-year-old man on suspicion of killing his 48-year-old wife at their apartment. According to police, Hiroyuki Shiraishi is accused of strangling his wife Hitomi to death with a cord at around 7 a.m. Monday morning, Fuji TV reported. Police said… Read
Man held over murder of Japanese couple in Bali
Indonesian police have arrested a man over the murder of an elderly Japanese couple whose bodies were found burned beyond recognition on the holiday island of Bali. The scorched corpses of Nurio Matsuba, 76, and his 73-year-old wife Hiroko were discovered on September 4 by their Indonesian foster son in… Read
China arrests Japanese citizen suspected of spying
Chinese authorities on Monday arrested a Japanese citizen suspected of spying, local state media said. The arrest was made in the port city of Dalian in the northeastern Liaoning province, which borders North Korea, the official Dalian Daily's online report said. The report said Ken Higuchi was being investigated by… Read
79-year-old hospital patient arrested for attempted murder of ‘noisy' patient in same room
Police in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, have arrested a 79-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder after he attacked a 70-year-old patient who was in the same hospital room as himself. According to police, the suspect has admitted to the charge and said he slammed the head of the victim into… Read
Man arrested for Ginza heist in April also charged with attempted robbery of 82-year-old woman
An unemployed man under arrest with two others for stealing a bag containing cash in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district in April has also been charged with the attempted robbery of an 82-year-old woman in her home in Nerima Ward, police said Sunday. According to police, Okito Ogasawara, 20, and Kazuki… Read
Man on death row for 4 murders in 2002 dies of illness
A death-row inmate convicted of killing four people in 2002 has died of illness at a Tokyo detention center, the Justice Ministry said Sunday. Tetsuo Odajima, 74, was pronounced dead at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday after losing consciousness. He had suffered esophageal cancer and been treated at the detention facility,… Read
Policeman indicted for killing wife to be charged with murder of his two children as well
Prosecutors in Ogori, Fukuoka Prefecture, plan to charge a policeman -- already indicted for murdering his wife in June -- with the murder of their two children. Mitsuru Nakata, a 38-year-old sergeant with the Fukuoka prefectural police, was initially arrested on suspicion of strangling his wife Yukiko, also 38, shortly… Read
