A man was found dead with massive bleeding at an apartment in Tokyo’s Ota Ward on Thursday morning. The Metropolitan Police Department found stab wounds to the neck, abdomen, thighs and other parts of the body of the victim, who is believed to be the apartment’s resident in his 40s. Police also discovered several bloody footprints at the scene.
The use of loss prevention tags by stalkers quickly spread in Japan last year, the National Police Agency has reported. According to the NPA, police across the country gave advice to victims of stalking using those electronic tags in 592 cases between January and November 2025, up 1.6-fold from the whole of the previous year. Their misuse for stalking increased from three cases in 2021 to 113 cases in 2022, 196 cases in 2023 and 370 cases in 2024, amid small, inexpensive products becoming widely available. Many victims have discovered the tags, which are supposed to be attached to wallets and keys by the owners, affixed to their cars without their knowledge or hidden in their belongings, the NPA said.
People with disabilities in Hyogo Prefecture will hold an emergency rally in Kobe on January 24th to protest violence at residential care facilities and to call for the early realization of deinstitutionalization. The gathering was prompted by reports that a resident with intellectual and physical disabilities died after being assaulted by staff at a facility in Sanda City. Organized by the Independent Living Center ‘Ring Ring’ and co-hosted by ‘Remember 7.26 Kobe Action’, the event will feature speakers from ‘Hyogo People First’ and will focus on disability rights and the need for community-based living.
Public prosecutors on Thursday sought a life sentence for Tetsuya Yamagami, who is charged with fatally shooting former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun in the western city of Nara in July 2022. In the 15th hearing of the lay-judge trial of Yamagami, 45, at Nara District Court, the prosecution said that the shooting was “an extremely grave incident unprecedented in our country’s postwar history” and a “shortsighted and selfish” crime, leaving “no room for leniency.”The defense requested a fixed-term sentence. The verdict is scheduled to be handed down on Jan. 21.
“Black Box Diaries,” an Oscar-nominated film directed by Japanese journalist Shiori Ito documenting her experience after suffering sexual violence, was released in Japan on Friday. It was screened at overseas film festivals in 2024 and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film at this year’s U.S. Academy Awards. Meanwhile, lawyers, including those who helped Ito win a civil lawsuit against the former TV journalist over her sexual abuse case, had criticized the use of hotel security camera images and statements from taxi drivers without permission.
Tomihiro Tanaka, Japan head of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, resigned from the post Tuesday. “We cannot underestimate the fact that we have caused deep pain to some people,” Tanaka told a news conference held at the head office in Tokyo of the controversial religious group’s Japan branch. “I’m sorry.”
Tetsuya Yamagami, charged with the 2022 murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, apologized to the bereaved family for the first time at Nara District Court on Thursday. At the 14th court hearing of his lay judge trial, Yamagami, 45, said he was very sorry for what he did. Yamagami also said that killing Abe was “wrong.” He reportedly targeted Abe in light of the former prime minister’s ties with the Unification Church, which he held a grudge against.
The trial of Tetsuya Yamagami, accused of killing former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022, continued this week at the Nara District Court with detailed testimony about the defendant’s motives and a courtroom appearance by Abe’s widow, Akie. Yamagami, 45, told judges and lay judges that he targeted Abe because he believed the former leader sat “at the center” of ties between politics and the Unification Church, saying his “hatred and hostility” developed gradually and that attacking any other politician would have carried “weak significance.”
Akie Abe sat behind prosecutors and listened to the 13th court hearing of the lay judge trial at Nara District Court, using a system for victims’ participation in trials. She did not ask questions herself.
She entered the courtroom at 1 p.m. wearing a black jacket with a blue ribbon badge, which is a symbol of efforts to rescue Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago.
Tetsuya Yamagami, who is standing trial for murdering former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022, testified in court on Tuesday that he believed Abe was at the center of the relationship between politics and the Unification Church, explaining why he carried out the murder.
Barrier Free Japan