An Australian man recently went on trial for attempted robbery resulting in injury after he climbed onto the second-floor balcony of a Shinjuku home and fought with the homeowner.
Each man had conflicting accounts of what happened that evening with the resident, a man in his 70s, claiming that the Australian shouted Goto da! (“This is a robbery!”) and Kin wa doko da? (“Where is the money?!”).
According to the Australian, he had smelled gas while passing by and climbed to the window nearest the resident to warn him of a potential gas leak. He also claims that he was speaking English rather than Japanese and said “Go to a door!” and “Can you walk?” in an effort to get him to evacuate.
A struggle ensued and the resident was hit in the head with a spade the Australian had found on the balcony. The Australian then fled the scene.
▼ A news report with CG dramatizations of the incident
Afterward, in Tokyo District Court, the defense attorney compared the incident to the popular TV segment "Soramimi Hour," named after the Japanese word soramimi which means “to mishear” and in which English song lyrics are completely misheard as Japanese phrases.
In online comments, this “soramimi defense” was widely met with disdain and people accused the lawyer of “playing games” and “coming up with the idea in a bar”.
It would appear the judges were not entirely swayed by the defense either. In a ruling on October 18, presiding judge Jun Shimato said that the explanation that “Go to a door!” was misheard as Goto da! was not credible. On the other hand, the possibility that the resident automatically assumed that the Australian was a robber and misunderstood him somehow could not be ruled out.
As a result, there was reasonable doubt as to the Australian’s intent to steal and so he was found not guilty on the count of attempted robbery resulting in injury. However, the judge also ruled that the act of climbing onto the balcony was unreasonable when he could have just rang the doorbell first. For that, he was found guilty on the charges of trespassing and assault and sentenced to two years in prison for those crimes.
Two years in prison is no joke but more than a few comments online were highly critical of the judges for being too lenient in handing down his sentence.
“Sentences for foreigners are too lenient. I question the judge’s qualifications.”
“The judge is pretty wild for this.”
“Whether he said ‘Goto da!’ or ‘Go to a door!’ he’s still breaking in.”
“That judge is too lenient.”
“I don’t care what he said. He was climbing on balconies and swinging a shovel!”
“If you can speak Japanese, there’s no way you would speak to a Japanese person in English. It makes no sense.”
“This is impossible… ‘Go to a door’ is incorrect English a native speaker would never say. It’s an excuse that a foreigner that understands Japanese English habits would come up with.”
“This is terrible. Lock the judges and lawyers up too.”
“It must have been scary for the person whose home was broken into. I feel sorry they have to face such a lack of remorse.”
Having covered countless crimes over the years, I would have to disagree with these comments about this being a lenient sentence. Suspended sentences are fairly standard penalties for first-time offenders and there have even been cases of homicide where the defendant only received a suspended sentence. They can be seen as efficient since they minimize the burden on the penal system and less likely to tie up courts with appeals while also keeping conviction rates up.
However, when judges explain their rulings remorse is often cited as a factor in handing down suspended sentences. Regardless of whether the defendant in this case really said “Go to a door!” or not, arguing that in court may have conveyed a certain skirting of personal responsibility that caused the judges to opt for a real prison sentence.
All I know is, if I’m ever brought to trial in Japan my go-to move would be to throw myself on the mercy of court, say what they want me to say, do what they want me to do, and pay the victims what they want me to pay. It wouldn’t even matter if I’m guilty or not, I’d just be as remorseful as humanly possible.
Source: The Sankei Shimbun, YouTube/FNNプライムオンライン
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© SoraNews24
22 Comments
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nandakandamanda
The guy's story is total rubbish. "Go to a door!" makes no sense in English.
Plus it wasn't a shovel but a hand trowel, and he said 'Kane' not 'kin', and he said he had smelled gasoline, not gas, I read, as he did parkour to the balcony.
No time for idiot people like this. Throw the book at him.
kohakuebisu
What a bizarre tale. Its illogical premise sounds like a prime example of when to roll out the "I was drunk and I don't remember" excuse, but he's not gone for it here.
My assumption about anyone on a balcony not on the rob would be that they are a perv wanting to peep or steal some knickers. It will not be the Good Samaritan or some proto-Spiderman come to save you from leaking gas.
WA4TKG
Why didn't he just admit to being DRUNK. It works for locals. Just telling the truth is usually better,
"I was drunk and don't remember"...Japanese judges respect that.
shogun36
I'm going to say that from now on in ANY emergency, regardless of situation.
GO TO A DOOR!!!
Some dude
This brought to mind a case from many years ago when a Japanese student was on homestay (or something along those lines) in the US. He got lost on the way home and wandered onto someone's property. America being America, the owner of said property came out wielding a gun, and then the story goes that he shouted "freeze", which the student heard as "please" and interpreted as an invitation to keep moving. It ended up with the student being shot dead, so it was a lot more serious (and unfortunate) than this event.
The comparisons to Soramimi Hour are a bit weird too. Soramimi Hour is one of the very, very few things that Japanese TV got right and is often incredibly amusing.
Blacklabel
This is dumb. go to a door?
But as usual the dramatization is awesome.
mountainpear
@Some dude He was a 16-year-old exchange student who was going to a Halloween party and went to the wrong house!
This guy advertises himself as a Japanese English translator, so why would he speak to a Japanese person in English? Pathetic!
I think the 2-year jail term was a bit harsh. Usually, first timers get a suspended sentence!
Some dude
@Some dude He was a 16-year-old exchange student who was going to a Halloween party and went to the wrong house!
Thanks for the clarification. Been a while since I read about it.
Imagine if he'd done his exchange in a country where people don't need guns as a support mechanism...
Roger Gusain
I'm Australian -- this idiot shames our country. He should be deported.
yoshisan88
Below is from an earlier news article (before the ruling) from the same news outlet:
The incident occurred at about 11:30 pm on 23 June 2023. According to the defendant’s statements, he was doing some parkour on his way home from a night of drinking, jumping off walls and whatnot in a residential area, when he claims to have picked up a faint smell of gasoline.
That guy was mostly likely drunk. Unfortunately, the decided to say he "remembers".
yoshisan88
Below is from an earlier news article (before the ruling) from the same news outlet:
The incident occurred at about 11:30 pm on 23 June 2023. According to the defendant’s statements, he was doing some parkour on his way home from a night of drinking, jumping off walls and whatnot in a residential area, when he claims to have picked up a faint smell of gasoline.
That guy was mostly likely drunk. Unfortunately, the decided to say he "remembers".
Fighto!
Imagine how the Vietnamese in Japan feel, then!
Nope.
He should serve a very tough prison sentence.
Being deported afterwards is a given.
Moonraker
It might work but you might end up like Hakamada Iwao or anyone else who has been coerced to confess to something they didn't do.
Blacklabel
Kin wa Doko desu ka?
hint: it’s not on the balcony, mate.
also I don’t think asking where it is will obtain a suitable answer.
best you would ever get is an “asoko desu” which doesn’t really help.
at least he didn’t do super stupid gaijin with the more usual “kane kure”
umm no im not kure-ing anything to your dumb a$$. Go get an actual job.
Roger Gusain
The resident was hit in the head with a spade the Australian had found on the balcony
It could have been a murder case. Words fail me.
sakurasuki
He violated one basic rule in Japan, mind your own business no matter what!
Smell something like gas, just continue walking.
That how you ensure your freedom in Japan, instead being dragged into hostage justice sytem.
Lindsay
He smelled gas and climbed onto the second floor balcony to tell them? Pull the other one mate. You’re caught! Admit to the crime or do extended time.
Peter Neil
”go to a doa, mate,” sounds more plausible.
kurisupisu
.
An anonymous piece of advice from an anonymous source-poor journalism!
Lotho Ody
1). Why did he decide to pick up a spade if his intention was merely to warn the resident to escape a possible fire? 2). Why did he run away after hitting and hurting the resident? He should have just defended himself by blocking the resident's hits or punches and stood his ground, explaining that he was merely trying to help until the cops arrived, rather than being chased and caught by the police. There was just some confusion about what his real intention was.
yoshisan88
From an earlier news article:
Noticing a kerosene tank on the second-floor balcony of a nearby house, as well as the light and sound of someone watching TV on the same floor, he says he climbed up there to warn whoever was inside. He found a small shovel on the balcony and picked it up to either knock on the window or pry it open to get the resident’s attention.
From the same earlier news article:
The incident occurred at about 11:30 pm on 23 June 2023. According to the defendant’s statements, he was doing some parkour on his way home from a night of drinking, jumping off walls and whatnot in a residential area, when he claims to have picked up a faint smell of gasoline.
He was likely drunk.
stickman1760
Expect more and more of these incidents with the influx of tourists.