Shiga woman acquitted of causing her husband permanent vision impairment with methanol

From NHK

September 3 2026

SHIGA – In 2023, a 36-year-old woman was charged with causing injury after allegedly making her husband consume methanol, resulting in impaired vision. The Otsu District Court found her not guilty, saying that it could not rule out the possibility that her husband had consumed the methanol himself.

The woman, aged 36, was acquitted.

In September 2023, at the couple’s home at the time in Ritto, Shiga Prefecture, she was accused of making her husband consume methanol by, among other methods, mixing it into a drink. The methanol allegedly caused him permanent visual impairment with no prospect of recovery, and she was charged with causing injury.

In the ruling handed down on the 3rd, Judge Ryuichi Tokui of the Otsu District Court pointed out that, based on testimony from doctors and other evidence, it was established that the husband had consumed methanol as a result of an intentional act. However, the court could not determine how many times he consumed it or how much he consumed.

The judge then stated that the possibility that the husband had consumed the methanol himself could not be ruled out, and therefore the court could not establish that the wife was the perpetrator.

She was consequently acquitted.