Crime
Thieves steal 60,000 persimmons from Gifu orchard
Gifu prefectural police are investigating the theft of 60,000 persimmons from an orchard last week. The high-grade Fuyu variety of persimmons, stolen from about 400 trees, were worth around 3 million yen in total, Sankei Shimbun quoted police as saying. The 63-year-old grower called police to report the theft on… Read
Ghosn determined to restore his reputation
Carlos Ghosn, the former auto industry superstar whose career screeched to a halt with his arrest three years ago, isn't about to settle into quiet retirement. The former head of the Nissan-Renault alliance fled to Lebanon in late 2019, while out on bail facing financial misconduct charges in Japan. In… Read
Man arrested over murder of woman in Saitama last month
Police in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, have arrested a 32-year-old man on suspicion of killing a 27-year-old unemployed woman in September. Police said the suspect, Suguru Tomita, a self-proclaimed company employee who lives in Higashimurayama, Tokyo, has denied killing Hidemi Miyazaki, Sankei Shimbun reported. Miyazaki was found dead in her apartment… Read
Man arrested for stealing woman’s underwear from laundry
Police in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, have arrested a 50-year-old man on suspicion of stealing five items of a woman’s underwear from a coin laundry in May 2020. Police said the suspect, Go Kimura, who is a chef, has admitted to stealing the underwear belonging to a 21-year-old woman while they… Read
Japan seeks to make online insults punishable by jail time
A plan to introduce prison terms as part of tougher penalties for online insults in Japan was approved this week by an advisory panel amid a growing need to tackle cyberbullying, the Justice Ministry said. Recent high-profile cases in Japan involving insults in cyberspace include the death of Hana Kimura,… Read
Prosecutors drop indictment against man over sexually assaulting woman in hotel
Prosecutors in Tokyo have dropped their indictment against a 38-year-old man who was arrested in June on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s in a hotel. The man met the woman, who was apparently intoxicated and could hardly stand up, outside the west exit of JR Ikebukuro… Read
2 bus company execs go on trial over 2016 fatal crash in Nagano
The president of a bus company and another executive charged with professional negligence resulting in death and injury went on trial on Thursday over a fatal bus crash that claimed the lives of 13 passengers and two drivers in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, on Jan 15, 2016. Misaku Takahashi, 60, president of Tokyo-based bus company ESP, and… Read
Ex-U.S. envoy Hagerty slams Japan's justice system over Nissan case
Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty on Wednesday accused Japan of what he called an "inhumane" justice system, citing the ongoing case of a former Nissan Motor Co executive who was arrested along with his boss Carlos Ghosn in 2018 in Japan over financial misconduct allegations. Hagerty, now a… Read
Man arrested for stalking airline cabin attendant
Police in Tokyo have arrested a 40-year-old man on suspicion of stalking an airline cabin attendant. According to police, Motoyuki Yamane, a company employee, has denied the charge, Fuji TV reported. The cabin attendant, who is in her 30s, told police she first met Yamane in the terminal at Haneda… Read
Man arrested for forcing his pet cat to swim
A 59-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of abusing his pet cat by forcing it to swim in a bathtub, police in Aichi Prefecture said Wednesday. The unemployed man had posted a photo and a video of the kitten being forced to swim on social media, the police said.… Read
