crime

Company president arrested for fatal abuse of employee

47 Comments

Police in Agui, Aichi Prefecture, have arrested the president of a wholesale seafood company for violently assaulting an employee who later died from his injuries.

According to police, Miyuki Muto, 47, kicked 23-year-old part-time employee Haruhiko Masumoto dozens of times in the face, head and abdomen in a parking lot at around 10 p.m. on Sunday, Fuji TV reported. The attack left Masumoto with severe internal hemorrhaging from both his lower abdomen and other parts of his body.

On Monday at around 3:50 a.m., Muto called police and said that a violent argument had broken out between herself and a man and that the man had lost consciousness.

Masumoto was taken to hospital where he died later on Monday.

Muto was quoted by police as saying she had been berating Masumoto about his attitude at work when she got worked up and began assaulting him inside a station wagon. After he got out of the car, she kept kicking him.

Meanwhile, Sankei Shimbun reported that Muto's 22-year-old son was also in the car at the time of the assault.

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47 Comments
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The level of acceptance of the physical abuse of employees in this country is one of the thongs i find most disturbing here. A couple years ago I watched a TV program about the training apprentice chefs go through in some top restaurant. Every time they made a mistake their supervisor would, in addition to berating them, hit them hard in the face.

The thing that just gave me the worst feeling wasn't seeing the abuse itself, but rather the fact that the program itself was just presenting this as a perfectly normal way in which chefs are disciplined. Like it didnt even occur to the producers that violence in the workplace was in any way an out of the ordinary thing that might merit comment or criticism.

The banality of evil. I hope this manager spends the rest of her life behind bars for murder.

14 ( +16 / -2 )

Female boss beats young employee to death. Any bets about her sentence? I bet the judge will "understand" after she shows "strong regret". JT let's have follow-up on this.

13 ( +17 / -4 )

This truly the boss from hell. This woman must truly be insane to act this way. Like many violent people she may not have known her own strength, Something more needs to be said. In this sexist society where women are seen as frail and helpless and "hysterical" female violence is too often excused. Men who have been violently abused by women are not taken seriously or laughed at as sissies. This boss may well have taken her liberties as a woman to violent.

Did the young man fight back? It appears he did not. Perhaps he was too much of gentleman to do. Gentlemen never hit women no matter what.

This is twisted and ironic aspect of male dominated society. A man who beats a woman is a brut. A woman who beats a man is passionate, A man lets a woman beat him up is a wimp because he cannot control the woman.

Let us see how much jail time the lady gets.

13 ( +13 / -0 )

OK, unless the victim, Masumoto-san, was a fragile, weak man and the suspect, Muto, was a remarkably strong woman, I am trying to understand how Muto would be able to do this. I am not saying she couldn't, but it would take a remarkable set of circumstances for this to occur.

Given that, here is my question: what was her son during this entire incident? Was he just an observer? Or did he actively help his mother, including restraining Masumoto-san, in order to allow his mother to do what she did?

Regardless, the son is culpable as well.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

The 22 year old son should go to jail to for assisted murder. Silence is acceptance.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Why would this guy even allow someone to beat him like that? That's my question!

7 ( +10 / -3 )

'My son was in the car.'

Mom taking the fall for her kid?

What does DNA testing say?

6 ( +6 / -0 )

And her 22 year old good-for-nothing son just let it happen.

In my world she would be doing a life sentence no matter how remorseful she was. A killer's life is never worth the risk of one more victim.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

What a bitch to do that to someone.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

As it seems as of now, there are only two living witnesses; the woman and her son. We'll possibly never know how much the son was involved, and if the woman is, at least in part, taking all the blame in an effort to spare the son a criminal conviction. However, as others have already said, in most developed countries his actions would also attract associated criminal charges.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

part-time employee

The poor sod wasn't even salaried. How much saabis zangyou was he forced to do, too?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Are we missing something? I know this will be an unpopular statement, but how does a man, who's pretty close to being in his physical prime, let a middle aged woman beat him to death?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

She could well be covering for the son, who should definitely be charged as an accomplice regardless for letting it go on. My guess is the judge will go easy on Herod she cries.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Cry, bow... "I was drunk I don't remember", "I was stressed"... suspended sentence

3 ( +4 / -1 )

And her 22 year old good-for-nothing son just let it happen.

hmm...makes me wonder if the 22 year old son was the real killer and she's just covering for him. Disgusting either way...a person of power brutally beating and killing an employee. If she couldn't stand him that much, just fire him, and call it an evening. Go have a beer and a sandwich.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

To the people saying that the guy must have let her beat him or a long those lines for him to have been killed; put aside your male ego, women can do as much damage as any man in a fight. It is likely that the guy did just let her beat him from some false sense of chivalry or simply because he was stunned that she was beating him at work.

I've grown up being told never to hit a woman - however, I should defend myself if a woman comes for me looking to hurt me. If she can throw a punch or slap then she should know to take one.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I've had two women bosses, and both were complete a$$holes. None of them ever tried to become physically abusive though...

2 ( +10 / -8 )

As long as she dices an onion in court , she will walk away a free woman with the blessings of the Japanese legal system.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

@b-man - there are many female presidents of small companies in Japan, such as medical publications, fashion, advertising and promotions, events, detective agency, bars, etc.. They are just not very visible. The absence of female heads of larger, blue-chip companies is very visible though.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I've found that people who try to characterize women leaders in the workplace as somehow inherently more difficult to work with than their male equivalent tend to be myopic asshats. But I wouldn't want to generalize.

There are an abundance of women leaders in the workplace who not only lead effectively, but also do so without ever killing subordinates in a fit of rage. My current boss is but one of them. The woman in the story above is an anomaly, and not a representation of any sort of norm. And she'll probably be imprisoned for this, as she rightly should.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Too much testosterone is not a good thing. Women get more as they get older and men less.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Japan is truly behind in worker's rights. The terrifying thing is this doesn't shock anymore. Its become normal behavior.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

The terrifying thing is this doesn't shock anymore. Its become normal behavior.

Untrue. If it wasn't shocking, and was the norm, you wouldn't be reading this story in the news.

Well, I've only had bad experiences with female in leading positions, and I strongly believe I'm not the only one.

The second best boss I ever had was a woman.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

The lesson for everyone here is never get into a physical fight. It is easy to kill someone or be killed. My guess is the victim was a traditional male. You do not exchange blows with a woman. You do not escape but face the blows. It is pretty certain that he did not expect to die.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I can't believe it...there is actually president of a Japanese company who is female.

Seriously, unless her name is Ronda Rousey, I don't believe she could have done this without the help of her son. Why in the world would they be in a station wagon together, with her son nonetheless.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Obatalion

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Wontond Japanese gaman

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The 22 year old son should go to jail to for assisted murder. Silence is acceptance.

Yeah but if she treats an employee like this, imagine what it would be like to live under the same roof with her. She probably has her son wrapped around her finger and/or brainwashed beyond repair.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Are we missing something? I know this will be an unpopular statement, but how does a man, who's pretty close to being in his physical prime, let a middle aged woman beat him to death?

Your average neighborhood obasan won’t be able to kick the life out of you, but the news mentioned something about this woman doing/having done kendo/martial arts. And if you look around, not all males are exactly big and muscular.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Wow, this is a case of the very darkest side of sempai/kohai & ijime, scary stuff!!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Hope she serves a lot of time - and sees an anger therapist

1 ( +1 / -0 )

She should be hanged for her crime

The death penalty rarely gets awarded for one murder

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The terrifying thing is this doesn't shock anymore. Its become normal behavior.

I sincerely doubt that. This is news because it is shocking. I have worked for a lot of bosses in Japan, and even though a couple of them were losers, none of them were ever violent.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The death penalty rarely gets awarded for one murder

Brutality of the crime is usually taken into consideration. for example, if she had tortured the victim, severed limb while he was still alive, and then buried the body parts all over Tokyo and express no remorse for doing it, she would most certainly get the death penalty.

I think in this case, her net worth will determine her fate.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Company president arrested for fatal abuse of employee

Hope she gets the same level of "sympathy" from the prosecutors, the press, and the public, including those here on JT, as was shown the woman PR executive from Toyota -- who had the temerity to sneak in 51 lousy pills. Given the reaction to her at the time, you would have thought she actually killed someone.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

It is hard for me to accept that 23 years old young man was so passive as punching bag. He may be so gentle and not willing to counter kick to the women who was his Boss. In the conventional theory, the woman could sack him if she was angry with him. She went too far for murdering him.

That young man was not deserve to die like that. Being poor and broke means he was treated worse than animals. She should be hanged for her crime.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

ConnorH93: I think it's more reasonable to assume that the 22-year old son was actively involved somehow (even if he was 'just' stopping the victim from running away). Even the average 47 year old would probably have trouble beating a young, presumably healthy, male to death unaided.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Eh, what? The female president knocked her male employee to death? I was really dumbfounded. Now she has got to pay a lofty price for what she has done. Yes, she'll surely end up behind the bars. Um, it's literally like "A bird cries too late when it is taken."

0 ( +0 / -0 )

People seem to allow themselves to be abused by their bosses. It seems to be accepted here. Good thing there are no guns avail. to the public or it would be like the WW west at work!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The son probably helped beat the guy up. I can't imagine anyone just standing by.

Poor guy to let himself get beat up so badly.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It is a murder, ok. But why the man didnt defend himself. Maybe she didnt acomplish the murder alone.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"Muto’s 22-year-old son was also in the car at the time of the assault"

As always in Japanese language the most import thing is left until last. And to really understand what's being said you must use your imagination...

THE VICTIM WAS "CONFINED" IN THE CAR BY THE SON!!! :-(

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@ebisen

Well, I've only had bad experiences with female in leading positions, and I strongly believe I'm not the only one.

So you are trying to take your personal experience and start to generalize and stereotype. Have you thought that it just might be personal experience?

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Well, I've only had bad experiences with female in leading positions, and I strongly believe I'm not the only one.

-2 ( +7 / -9 )

Wow, she must be female sumo to do that type of damage to Haruhiko-san. Very impressive

-7 ( +0 / -7 )

@ebisen

What is the point of your comment?

-10 ( +5 / -15 )

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