Category: Crime

by Michael Gillan Peckitt February 19, 2025 Number of comments0
Crime Japan

Man sentenced to 10 years for pipe bomb attack on former PM Kishida

A Japanese court sentenced a man to 10 years in prison on Wednesday for the attempted murder in 2023 of then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a pipe bomb attack at an election event. In the trial at the Wakayama District Court, prosecutors sought 15 years in prison for Ryuji Kimura, 25, for attempting to kill Kishida and others when he hurled a homemade explosive device at the premier as he approached a crowd for a stump speech in the western Japan city of Wakayama in April 2023.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt February 16, 2025 Number of comments0
Crime Hospitals Japan

Ex-head of Japan hospital suspected of covering up murder in hospital

A former head of a hospital in northeastern Japan and his doctor brother were sent to prosecutors on Saturday for allegedly covering up the murder of a patient by another patient in 2023, police said. Takashi Ishiyama, 61, and Tetsu Ishiyama, 60, the primary physician of the victim who was killed at Michinoku Memorial Hospital in Aomori Prefecture, were arrested Friday on suspicion of fabricating a death certificate that stated the cause of death as pneumonia. The murderer has already been sentenced to 17 years in prison for fatally stabbing Seietsu Takahashi, 73, in the face with a toothbrush. The assailant had been hospitalized for alcohol addiction and was sharing a room with Takahashi, according to a court ruling. The Ishiyamas were allegedly aware of the murder but tried to hide it, including by providing the false death certificate to Takahashi’s family.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 24, 2025 Number of comments0
Crime Disability Japan Sexual abuse

‘Black Box Diaries’ About Sexual Assault in Japan, Directed by Shiori Ito, Becomes First Japanese Oscar Nominee for Best Documentary Film

Black Box Diaries,” a documentary film directed by Japanese journalist Shiori Ito, received an Academy Awards nomination for documentary feature film Thursday. Ito, a symbolic figure in the #MeToo movement in Japan, is the first Japanese nominee in the category.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 9, 2025 Number of comments0
Children Crime Japan

Arrested man faces murder charge over Japan McDonald’s stabbings

A 43-year-old man arrested over the stabbing of a boy at a McDonald’s restaurant in southwestern Japan last month was newly charged on Thursday 9th January with the murder of a 15-year-old girl who was also a victim of the attack, police said. The arrested man told the police he targeted the pair for a specific reason, and the attacks were not random, adding that the victims are “not at fault.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 26, 2024 1
Abuse Crime Disability Japan

Number of people with disabilities abused by family members or facility staff in Japan reached record high last year

Last year, 4,641 people with disabilities were abused by family members or staff at welfare facilities for the disabled, the highest number ever. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, last year, there were 3,477 cases of abuse of people with disabilities in local governments nationwide, and 4,641 people were abused, both of which are the highest numbers since statistics began being collected in 2012.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 16, 2024 Number of comments0
Crime Japan Mental Health

Manhunt continues after McDonald’s stabbings leave teen dead in Japan

Police continued their search on Monday for a man believed responsible for the stabbing death of a 15-year-old junior high school girl two days ago at a McDonald’s restaurant in southwestern Japan.

The man, described by witnesses as being around 40 years old, also stabbed a male student who was waiting in line with the female victim, Saaya Nakashima, at the fast-food restaurant in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture. The 15-year-old boy, who police did not name, survived but suffered serious injuries.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 15, 2024 1
Care Crime Disability Japan Welfare

Fukui Prefecture Takes “administrative action” Over Fraudulent Claims of 7.95 Million Yen in Welfare Service Benefits for People with Disabilities

On December 13, Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture, took administrative action under the Comprehensive Support for Persons with Disabilities Act to revoke the designation of ‘MIRAI’, a Type B support for continuous employment support facility operated by Imakoko, a general incorporated association in the city, for fraudulently claiming and receiving approximately 7.95 million yen in disability welfare service benefits.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 6, 2024 Number of comments0
Crime Disability Forced Sterilization Japan Podcast

Forced Sterilization Plaintiff Yumi Suzuki Named an “Influential and inspiring woman” by the BBC [Podcast Episode]

Yumi Suzuki, one of the plaintiffs who sued the Japanese government over forced sterilization under the now-defunct eugenics protection law was selected for the BBC’s annual list of “influential and inspiring women” around the world on Tuesday 3rd December. The theme of this year’s selection was “resilience,” highlighting the women who “are pushing for change and improving lives at community or global level.”