Category: Crime

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 29, 2026 Number of comments0
Children Crime Disability Japan Pregnancy

Prosecutors Amend Indictment in Fatal Crash Involving Pregnant Woman, Stops Short of Injury Charge for Fetus

At the second hearing on Jan. 26 at the Ichinomiya branch of the Nagoya District Court, prosecutors amended the indictment in a fatal traffic accident case involving a pregnant woman to include harm caused to the fetus, while declining to apply a separate charge of negligent driving resulting in injury to the child. The husband of the victim, Yudai Togitani, who lost his wife and whose daughter was left with severe disabilities, said the grief of losing his wife and the anger over having his daughter’s future taken away have remained unchanged since the accident, adding that he could not accept that his daughter was not treated as a victim when her name was initially omitted from the indictment.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 28, 2026 Number of comments0
Abuse Care Crime Disability Japan

Ex-Employee Arrested for Multiple Assaults at Saitama Disability Facility

A former employee of a facility for people with disabilities in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, has been arrested on suspicion of repeatedly assaulting and injuring a male resident in his 20s with a disability on three occasions between 2021 and 2024, police said. Investigators allege the 42-year-old man initially told colleagues the injuries were the result of an accident, but the case came to light after a relative of another resident contacted police in January last year. Authorities have since identified injuries among other residents from the same period that may have been caused by assaults, raising concerns the suspect may have routinely abused multiple residents, and police are continuing their investigation.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 27, 2026 Number of comments0
Crime Disability Japan

75-Year-Old Tottori Man Sentenced to Three Years and Two Months For Multiple Hit-and-Run Incidents, Leaving 9-Year-Old Disabled

In explaining the reasons for the sentence, the court first referred to the incident on March 31, 2025, in which the defendant caused serious injury to a 9-year-old child through negligent driving. The 9-year-old child who was injured suffered “diffuse axonal injury, traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage, acute subdural hematoma, swallowing dysfunction, and quadriplegia, among other injuries, and at one point was in a life-threatening condition.” Even now, “the function of both the upper and lower limbs remains severely restricted, nutrition is almost entirely provided through tube feeding, the child can barely speak, and requires assistance for most daily activities.” The prospect of future recovery remains uncertain.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 26, 2026 Number of comments0
Crime Japan Sexual Assault

Final Settlement Reached in GSDF Sexual Abuse Case

A former member of Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force reached a final settlement on Monday in a damages lawsuit she filed over sexual assault by five then GSDF members. The settlement, reached at Yokohama District Court, includes the government’s payment of a total of 1.6 million yen to the plaintiff, Rina Gonoi, 26, but not an apology or payment from the five former GSDF members.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 23, 2026 Number of comments0
Assassination of Shinzo Abe Crime Japan Podcast Unification Church

Judge Says of Ex-PM Abe Killer: “It cannot be said that his background had a great impact” [Podcast Episode]

Presiding Judge Shinichi Tanaka suggested that the motive claimed was irrational, stating, “It cannot be said that his background had a great impact.” During the trial, the defense argued that, given Yamagami’s troubled background related to the controversial religious group Unification Church, with which Abe allegedly had ties, his sentence should be no more than 20 years.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 21, 2026 1
Assassination of Shinzo Abe Crime Japan Unification Church

Judge in Ex-PM Abe Trial Says of Killer: “It cannot be said that his background had a great impact”

Presiding Judge Shinichi Tanaka suggested that the motive claimed was irrational, stating, “It cannot be said that his background had a great impact.” During the trial, the defense argued that, given Yamagami’s troubled background related to the controversial religious group Unification Church, with which Abe allegedly had ties, his sentence should be no more than 20 years.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 20, 2026 Number of comments0
Assassination of Shinzo Abe Crime Japan Unification Church

Court to Hand Sentence to PM Abe Shooter Wednesday 21st January

A district court in western Japan is scheduled to hand down a sentence on Wednesday to the man accused of fatally shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022. A key issue is how Nara District Court will assess the influence on the defendant, Tetsuya Yamagami, of his mother’s involvement with the Unification Church, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 16, 2026 Number of comments0
Care Crime Disability Japan Podcast

Yokohama Court Hands Suspended Sentence to Man Over Growing Cannabis at Facility for Disabled Children [Podcast Episode]

On January 13th, the Yokohama District Court held the sentencing hearing for a 31-year-old male defendant, a resident of Yamato City, charged with violating the Cannabis Control Law and other offenses for cultivating cannabis plants at the support facility for children with disabilities in Fujisawa City where he was employed.