Category: Crime

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 17, 2025 Number of comments0
Assassination of Shinzo Abe Crime Disability Japan

Trial of Shinzo Abe’s Assassin May Begin in October

The trial of Tetsuya Yamagami, charged with murdering former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022, may begin this October, it has been learned. On Friday, Nara District Court presented the Nara District Public Prosecutors Office and Yamagami’s lawyers with a proposal to hold the first hearing of his trial in late October, informed sources said. Yamagami, 44, is expected to admit in court that he intended to kill Abe, according to the sources. A total of six pretrial conferences have been held on the case so far, and the seventh is scheduled for May 27.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 17, 2025 1
Blind Crime Dating Disability Japan

Japan’s Disability Dating App Scammers: Man with Visual Impairment Speaks Out

In the wake of three employees being arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police for luring a man they met through a matching app to a restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo, forcing him to pay 1.1 million yen in cash and other charges in a scam; a man in his 20s who was a victim of the “rip-off” scam by the recently arrested group spoke to NHK. The man has a level two visual impairment and usually uses a white cane when walking outside.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 16, 2025 2
Crime Dating Disability Japan

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Arrest Three Bar Employees Who Used ‘Dating App’ to Lure Man with Disabilities to Pay 1.1 Million Yen

Three employees were arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police for luring a man they met through a matching app to a restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo, and forcing him to pay 1.1 million yen in cash and other charges in a scam. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police are currently investigating the group’s activities and the full extent of their illegal operations.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 14, 2025 Number of comments0
Children Crime Japan

Arrested Student Cites Reformatory as Aim of Chiba Murder

A 15-year-old male student arrested for the alleged murder of a woman in Chiba, near Tokyo, said that he wanted to go to juvenile reformatory to escape his complex home environment, according to investigative sources. This year, a parent of the junior high school third-year student consulted police about him running away from home for a short time, police and other sources said. Subsequently, meetings were held between the student and a consultant. A meeting session had been set also for Monday, when the student was arrested.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 13, 2025 Number of comments0
Crime Disability Elderly Japan

Chiba Boy Arrested for Alleged Murder of Elderly Woman

Police in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, arrested a 15-year-old junior high school boy in the city of Chiba, the prefecture’s capital, on Monday on suspicion of murdering an 84-year-old woman. The boy allegedly stabbed Yayoi Takahashi in the back with a knife-like object on a street in the city’s Wakaba Ward around 5 p.m. Sunday. He is admitting the allegation, investigative sources said. Police are investigating the possibility that the boy randomly attacked the woman as they did not know each other, according to the sources.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 9, 2025 1
Blind Crime Disability Japan

Yokohama Couple Files Damages Lawsuit: Police Officers Enter Visually Impaired Person’s Home Without Permission

In the appeal trial of a lawsuit where a visually impaired couple residing in Isogo Ward, Yokohama City, is seeking damages from the prefectural police, alleging that police officers entered their home without permission, the prefectural police have newly asserted that “(even without sight) the movements of police officers can be understood by the sounds of their equipment.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 3, 2025 Number of comments0
Aichi Children Crime Japan

Body of Dead High School Girl Shows Many Stab Wounds

Stab wounds are concentrated on the upper body of 16 year old Tokyo high school girl, Waka Kato, who was found dead in a house in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, two days ago, police sources said Wednesday. According to the police, an autopsy found that Kato died of hemorrhagic shock on Sunday or so. Many stab wounds and slashes on the back of her upper body, notably above the shoulders, suggest the possibility that she was attacked from behind, people familiar with the autopsy results said.