crime

Elementary school vice principal arrested over hit-and-run in Saitama that killed Filipino woman

17 Comments

Police on Sunday arrested the 54-year-old vice principal of an elementary school in Saitama on suspicion of negligent driving resulting in death after he allegedly killed a Filipino woman on Saturday morning in a hit-and-run incident.

Yoshiaki Tanaka, the vice principal of an elementary school in Kawaguchi city, is accused of hitting Josephine Rameda Ito with his car and fleeing the scene without calling for help or providing first aid, Fuji TV reported.

Ito, 56, died from head injuries early Saturday morning. She had been riding her bicycle home from work just before 2:30 a.m.

Tanaka told police that he thought he "had hit something," but didn't think it was a person and that he “had been drinking” right before the incident.

Representatives of the Kawaguchi Board of Education told police that Tanaka had been drinking with the school’s principal from around 6:30 p.m. on Friday night and that the two had parted ways after about 10 p.m. when Tanaka told the principal that he was going to take the bus back home.

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17 Comments
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Tanaka told police that he thought he "had hit something," but didn't think it was a person and that he “had been drinking” right before the incident.

This is exactly the same scenario over and over again. For a country that has severe penalties for drink driving there seems to be a lot of drink driving. Perhaps the enforcement of such severe penalties is lacking. (tongue in cheek)

11 ( +12 / -1 )

This deserves prison.

13 ( +13 / -0 )

I suspect that many of these late night/early morning hit and runs are the result DWIs and attempts to avoid being tested.

just surprised he admitted it in this case.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

The penalties for drink driving in Japan may very well be severe, but the enforcement is not. The police do ‘morning after’ RBTs in Australia and catch a lot of people still over the limit driving to work. They block one or two of the bridges leading in and out of Brisbane two or three times a month to catch drink drivers. The Japanese police have extremely random breath tests, but they are in usual places and at usual times in silly seasons. They could be doing a lot more to stop drink driving.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

If your drunk, take a taxi. ¥1500 is better than losing your job, face and prison.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Death penalty, please.

If you drink and drive then kill somebody you're unforgivable.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

Alcoholic and workaholic educators set a bad example. 

Killing innocent people travelling home sets an even worse example.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

People responsible for the education of children should be themselves responsible in their actions. A feeling of obligation to drink with one's boss perhaps should be re examined.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Minimum 20 years in prison.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The penalties for drink driving in Japan may very well be severe, but the enforcement is not. The police do ‘morning after’ RBTs in Australia and catch a lot of people still over the limit driving to work. They block one or two of the bridges leading in and out of Brisbane two or three times a month to catch drink drivers. The Japanese police have extremely random breath tests, but they are in usual places and at usual times in silly seasons. They could be doing a lot more to stop drink driving.

Don't assume things you don't know about. Cops often do morning afters on the route I take into work. At least once a month, if not more. Also it depends where you live. If you are in inaka, of course the cops aren't going to do too much. Down here, they do plenty.

Sure they could do more, but you have to understand the mind set of the Japanese public regarding the police, do too much and they are overly invasive, not enough and they are on the streets in force.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Driving drunk and killing someone is the same as premeditated murder in my book. No one put a gun to your head to drink, everyone knows the consequences, and as a vice-principal even more so, he knowingly took the risk and killed someone.

On top of that he lied to his principal, who should have called him a daiko in the first place, went drinking somewhere for another 4 hours, got shitfaced no doubt, and killed this woman.

His life for her life, but make his life in prison, busting big rocks into little one's! Take away his hope for a future like he did to this poor woman.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

he “had been drinking” right before the incident.

That makes it even worse!!!!

What sort of example is he sending to his pupils? Drunk-driving and leaving someone to die?

5 ( +5 / -0 )

I hope that the judge treats the victim as a human being that lost their life to a drunk driver. Stop basing decisions on ethnicity of the victim as if one human is is worth less than another.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Drink driving is not taken seriously enough here.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Poor woman - RIP.

It might have been worse than this. Just a speculation but if the principal or someone else was in the car with him? Nothing else he could do but to run away.

And on a side note - bicycle riders more often than not are without back light (just cat eye).

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Yubaru - Don't assume things you don't know about. Cops often do morning afters on the route I take into work

I’m not assuming anything, thank you very much. So, you see one morning RBT and say I know nothing? Lucky you!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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