Crime
Overly straightforward phone fraud prevention poster goes viral
Although scammers exist all over the world, the problem of phone fraud is particularly acute in Japan, where the elderly are often targeted as easy prey. According to an article in Nippon.com, the National Police Agency reported that fraudsters bilked victims out of about 50 billion yen every year from 2007 to… Read
Nursery teacher arrested over kidnapping and sexually assault of elementary school girl
Police in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, have arrested a 32-year-old male nursery teacher on suspicion of kidnapping and sexually assaulting an elementary school girl. According to police, Daiki Ogawa, who was arrested on Wednesday, is accused of assaulting the child and filming the incident on his smartphone on Sept 20, Fuji TV… Read
Mother arrested for murder after infant found in Okayama irrigation canal
Police in Okayama city have arrested a 35-year-old woman on suspicion of murder after she threw her newborn daughter into an irrigation canal in the city. According to police, a foreign student called 110 at around 9:20 p.m. on Tuesday to report that a baby was floating face down in… Read
6 doctors referred to prosecutors over death of 2-year-old boy in 2014
Police referred six doctors to prosecutors on Wednesday over their alleged negligence resulting in the death of a 2-year-old boy at a Tokyo hospital in 2014. The anesthesiologists, including a 60-year-old former associate professor at Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital, are suspected of administering an excessive dose of the sedative… Read
Japanese elementary teacher busted for hiding students’ shoes; writing 'die' on their belongings
Have you ever felt like your teacher really had it in for you? Maybe they graded you lower, spent extra time calling you out in class, or peed on your sleeping bag during a school trip. For students at an elementary school in Akiruno City, Tokyo, a similarly strange case has come… Read
Fire department employee arrested for indecent behavior with minor
Police in Oshamambe, Hokkaido, have arrested a 52-year-old fire department employee on suspicion of committing an indecent act with a 13-year-old girl he met on a social networking site. According to police, Kunio Aoyagi, who was arrested on Tuesday, has been arrested for allegedly violating Hokkaido Prefecture’s Juvenile Protection law,… Read
Decapitated body of man found in apartment in Niigata Prefecture
Police in Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture, on Wednesday said they believe a decapitated body found in an apartment on Monday. The body, which was inside a suitcase, had decayed to the extent that its gender could not be determined when found. However, an autopsy revealed Tuesday that the remains were… Read
No jail for parents who left daughters at home while they used COVID cash handout for hotel stay
The parents of 3-year-old and 1-year-old girls were given a suspended prison sentence Tuesday for leaving their daughters at home in Kagoshima while they stayed at a hotel for more than a week after receiving the government's COVID-19 cash handouts. Mitsugu Yamamoto, 28, and his wife Kazuki, 24, charged with… Read
Appeal filed for former top bureaucrat accused of killing reclusive son
A former top bureaucrat accused of murdering his socially reclusive son last year entered a plea of not guilty on the grounds of self-defense at the first hearing of his appeal trial Tuesday. During the hearing at the Tokyo High Court, the defense team for Hideaki Kumazawa, a former vice… Read
150 pears stolen from orchard in Saitama Prefecture in latest fruit theft
About 150 Japanese pears (nashi) were stolen from an orchard in the town of Kamisato, Saitama Prefecture, on Monday. According to police, the 69-year-old orchard owner noticed that several dozen “Oshu” variety of Japanese pears had been ripped off from the branches sometime Sunday night or early Monday morning, Sankei… Read
