Police in Osaka on Saturday arrested a 33-year-old man on suspicion of murder after he threw his drunken 23-year-old acquaintance into the Dotombori River where the man drowned. Police also arrested a 37-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman on charges of involuntary manslaughter for failing to help the victim.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 10:30 p.m. on July 11 at the famous Osaka waterway in Chuo Ward. Police said the suspect, Takahiro Izutani, who manages a sex services establishment, the victim, Shoma Miyoshi, and the two other suspects, were walking along a promenade known as the Tombori Riverwalk, when Izutani pushed Miyoshi into the river, Fuji TV reported.
A witness called 119 at 10:40 p.m. and said a man was floating in the river. Miyoshi was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police said Izutani has denied the charge and quoted him as saying, “I just dared him (Miyoshi) to jump in as a drunken prank, but he fell in.”
The two other suspects have admitted to the charge and said that Izutani pressured them into initially backing up his story. However, surveillance footage in the area showed Izutani heaving Miyoshi into the river.
© Japan Today
9 Comments
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Bill Murphy
The difference between “acquaintance” and “friend” is rather important. Or was the victim neither?
NoIdeaAboutAnything
choose your friends wisely
Goodlucktoyou
Don’t get drunk and walk with a pimp at night next to river.
smithinjapan
Perhaps if he had admitted to pushing him to begin with and not coerced the others into lying, the charges might not be so severe. They deserve all the charges and punishment they get.
garypen
Sage advice my dear old grandmother gave me as a child.
Kobe White Bar Owner
Booze pride and testosterone, never a pretty mix.
Toshihiro
too much drinks will get you ending up in the drink i guess? From experience, Alcohol never really goes well with social pressure. It'll make you do things you wouldn't even think about doing
starpunk
Some 'friend' he turned out to be!
Slickdrifter
Whats surprising is that no one went in after the man outside of there walking party and shenanigans.
No bystanders?
Anyone live around this river? Does water move rapidly?
I know in my area there are emergency lifebuoy's around waterways where there is a high traffic patterns. Guaranteed this would have saved the mans life and he could have been roped in,
NOTE: if he wasn't to wasted.