Foreigner killed by Japanese DJ gets off easy
This in from Debito: “The killer of Scott Tucker, choked to death by a DJ in a Tokyo bar, gets suspended sentence.
Zurui: Here is some background information on the Bul-lets DJ. — Police confirmed Wednesday that they have charged a man with killing an American man in a nightclub in Azabu on Feb 29. Atsushi Watanabe, 29, was charged with killing Richard Scott Tucker, 47, by choking him and punching him from behind at around 10:40 p.m. The victim was taken to hospital but died about one hour later.
According to police, Watanabe, who works for the Bullets club as a DJ, assaulted the victim after finding him drunk and aggressively shoving other customers. Watanabe was quoted by police as saying, “I tried to stop him shoving customers. I didn’t mean to kill him.”
I made the case some months ago, in a special DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER on criminal justice and policing of NJ, that NJ get special (as in negative) treatment by courts and cops. (さらに…)
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )2007 Indictment Rate for USFJ Crimes
The Justice Ministry has released statistics showing the numbers of cases indicted and dropped over crimes and other incidents involving U.S. military personnel in 2007. Public prosecutors indicted 48.6% of all cases, including those violating the Road Traffic Law and other specific laws. However, when it comes to criminal cases like robberies and thefts, the indictment rate was extremely low at 13.3%.
In the breakdown of indicted crimes, traffic law violations were overwhelming at 286 cases, followed by vehicular manslaughters at 30 cases and bodily injuries at 7 cases. Among dropped cases, vehicular manslaughters topped at 255 cases, followed by thefts at 44 cases and destructions and secretions at 9 cases. (さらに…)
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Laying down the law
THE STORY HAS ALL THE ELEMENTS of more familiar causes célèbre: Parasitic attorneys disfiguring the intent of the law to further their own objectives, politicians making intemperate comments and then toggling between I’m sorry/I’m not sorry, and newspapers imitating third-rate blogs. In short, it’s another milestone in the descent of public discourse into the cesspool.
Except this time the story is happening in Japan and not in the West.
In April 1999, an 18-year-old male posed as a plumber (or plumbing inspector, or drainage pipe repair worker, depending on the newspaper) to force his way into an apartment in Hikari, Yamaguchi. Once inside, he tried to rape the woman living there, 23-year-old Motomura Yayoi. When she resisted, he strangled her with his hands, performed sex on her corpse, and strangled her 11-month-old baby with a rope after throwing the infant to the floor.
He later explained in court that it was his desire to rape a total stranger.
Defendants aged 14 to 19 are usually tried as juveniles in Japan, but they are tried as adults for serious crimes. These cases account for 0.8% of all juvenile trials. The 27-year-old defendant’s name has never been revealed because he was a minor when he committed the crime. (Hereinafter, we’ll call him Nanashi Gombei.)
Nanashi’s first trial was held at the Yamaguchi District Court in 2000. He confessed and was sentenced to life in prison.
The disappointed prosecutors were seeking the death penalty, so they appealed to the Hiroshima High Court. The Hiroshima court upheld the Yamaguchi ruling in 2002, so the prosecutors appealed to the Supreme Court.
Japan’s Supreme Court sided with the prosecutors. The Hiroshima court ruled that life imprisonment was appropriate because the killings weren’t premeditated and the killer was a minor. The Supreme Court said those arguments were insufficient and told Hiroshima to try again. (さらに…)
The Japanese O.J. Simpson Kills Himself
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – A Japanese businessman hanged himself in a Los Angeles jailcell where he was awaiting trial for plotting his wife’s murder here in 1981, prosecutors said Saturday.
Kazuyoshi Miura, 61, killed himself Friday night just hours after arriving in Los Angeles in the custody of authorities that had him extradited to face criminal charges here.
Chief of Los Angeles police detectives Charles Beck said Miura used a piece of shirt to hang himself after a jailer checked on him at 9:45 pm Friday (0445 GMT Saturday). Miura was alone in his cell.
An officer noticed Miura unconscious, hanging by the strip of cloth, about ten minutes later.
“The detention officers assigned to the portion of the jail housing Miura had conducted a required cell check, with nothing unusual to report, approximately 10 minutes prior,” Beck said.
Efforts to revive Miura failed and he was pronounced dead at a local medical center, according to Beck.
Miura had been in police custody since his arrest February 21 in the US commonwealth of Saipan.
He arrived in Los Angeles early Friday under escort by police detectives and was to remain in jail until being arraigned in court next week on a charge of conspiracy to murder his wife.
Miura had been dubbed the “Japanese O.J. Simpson” because of the intense interest in his case at home. (さらに…)
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Sumo in Japan: Does smoking a joint beat murder?
Former makuuchi division Russian wrestler, 20-year-old Toshinori Wakanoho (whose real name is Soslan Gagloev), under arrest for possessing marijuana, has told police that he first turned to drugs in his early teens, and that after he entered the sumo world he smoked dope every time he went home to Russia.
According to a statement Wakanoho made to police, he went to a nightclub in Tokyo’s Roppongi entertainment district by himself on June 20, where he was offered marijuana by a Russian man and a black man. He smoked the drug in the club’s restroom using a bong, or water pipe. Wakanoho then bought marijuana, two pipes and rolling papers from the black man for 20,000 yen. (さらに…)
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Citizens Fight Yakuza
A very interesting case. I am surprised that the citizens stepped up. Will others across Japan follow suit?
FUKUOKA–About 600 residents in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, filed a petition for a temporary injunction Monday at the Kurume branch of the Fukuoka District Court that will stop the Dojin-kai crime syndicate from using its headquarters in the city.
According to the lawyers of the residents, this is the first such case in the country in which residents have filed for a temporary injunction requiring a designated crime syndicate to move its headquarters.
Since 2006, the Dojin-kai has been involved in a bloody confrontation with the Kyushu Seido-kai based in Omuta of the prefecture, a group that broke away from the Dojin-kai.
The rival syndicates have been involved in several violent exchanges and leading members of both groups have been killed.
According to the petition for the injunction, residents are running the risk of becoming involved in the bloodshed because the crime syndicate’s headquarters is one of the targets of attacks. The residents claim that their right to live a peaceful life–as guaranteed by the Constitution–is being infringed upon by the existence of the headquarters.
The petition also calls for the court to take over the building. If the court approves the request it can take compulsory measures to execute the order such as excluding group members from the building by blocking its entrance.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Many Killed Akihabara Stabbing Spree
Wow! Another wacko goes on a rampage and kills innocent people with a knife. Guns do not kill people in Japan, crazy people in Japan with knives kill people. The numerous murders by knife and weekly suicides via poison, gas, train, hanging, or jumping in Japan is a strong indicator that something is not right in the Land of the Rising Sun. People are sad and mad and I think that it is time for all to do more to understand why! By the way, I wish that the foreign press would stop spreading the myth that Japan is the one of the safest countries in the world. Maybe they should stop comparing nations with “guns” as the weapon of choice!
TOKYO, June 8 — Screaming as he randomly stabbed shoppers with a hunting knife, a 25-year-old man killed seven people and injured 11 others at lunchtime Sunday in a Tokyo retail district.
Tomohiro Kato drove a white two-ton rental truck into a crowd of pedestrians, running over at least three people and then emerging from the truck with a large knife, according to police and witnesses.
Indiscriminately slashing and stabbing as he went, Kato then ran and walked through the center of the Akihabara neighborhood, where thousands of young men from Japan and around the world gather for electronic gadgets and comic books, computer games and nerdy fellowship.
According to the police and hospital officials, six of the seven who died were males and aged 19, 20, 29, 33, 47 and 74. The other was a 21-year-old female.
“I am tired of life,” Kato later told police. “I came to Akihabara to kill people. It didn’t matter who they were. I came alone.”
Japan is one of the safest countries in the world, when it comes to violent crime. Strict gun-control laws make it difficult for most Japanese to own handguns. Here and here for the rest of the story.
For those studying Japanese, here is a video:
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From Desertion to Murder! Why?
Japan and the United States yesterday held a meeting of their intergovernmental joint committee to discuss the lack of information about a U.S. military deserter in connection with a taxicab driver slain in the city of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
In the meeting, the Japanese and U.S. governments agreed to quicken procedures to acknowledge desertion. Based on the agreement, the United States will immediately inform Japan about deserters or US military personnel that are absent without leave (AWOL) and ask Japanese police authorities to arrest them. The U.S. side will provide as much information as possible, including the name, birth date, nationality, rank and photo of the personnel concerned, the Foreign Ministry said.
Senior Vice Foreign Minister Itsunori Onodera revealed the agreement in a press conference yesterday. The U.S. military used to take up to about 30 days to acknowledge a deserter. From now on, the U.S. military is expected to acknowledge a deserter within a day or two after that deserter’s whereabouts became unknown.
It should be noted that under military code of law, a service member would be automatically considered a deserter 30 days after going missing, and in cases less than 30 days, the U.S. authorities would determine whether s/he deserted or went missing. So after thirty days of being AWOL, a service member is dropped from the rolls and classified as a deserter—administratively, not legally, for that takes a court-martial. At that point, a federal warrant is issued for his arrest. Once a deserter is apprehended or turns himself in, s/he can be returned to his unit, or court-martialed and given jail time, or given nonjudicial punishment and an other-than-honorable discharge.
Okay, back to the main story. The U.S. agreed to this new condition, based on a special Japanese criminal law related to the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement, in the wake of a recent spate of serious crimes allegedly committed by servicemen. It seems that the Japanese and U.S. governments are making an attempt to improve the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement‘s implementation. Presently, the Japan-U.S. Status-of-Forces Agreement does not require the U.S. side to inform Japan of any deserters or missing troops, but Onodera said Thursday’s agreement was made as part of improved implementation of the accord, which governs the operations of U.S. Forces Japan.
Since 2005, nine U.S. service members have deserted U.S. bases or units in Japan, four of whom were arrested by Japanese police and another two by the U.S. military. Two voluntarily returned to their units and one still remains missing, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Finally, the Japanese and U.S. governments have also agreed on new arrangements for the U.S. forces to reveal information on personnel and families living off base, in light of an alleged rape case in Okinawa in February.
Click here to learn more about the deserter that murdered the cab driver.
Sources: Various
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The Rest of the Story!
Following the allegation that a US Marine Staff Sergeant raped a young girl, I have decided to expand my research of the US-Japan/Okinawa relationship in the hopes of identifying weaknesses in the so-called “mutual” defense treaty and “host” nation support. I will focus on certain crimes committed by USFJ and the various outcomes relating to US-Japan relations.
As so rightly pointed out, the Japanese media and certain political elements have had a great run on pushing their agenda to have the US bases removed, SOFA revamped, and righting the wrongs committed against the citizens of Okinawa. Bear in mind that it “seemed” like the young victim was secondary to the grand scheme to further push a political/economic agenda.
When will the US understand that apologizing BEFORE all the facts are laid out, instituting punishment BEFORE the case is presented, and (un)knowingly criminalizing all US military and civilian personnel due to the action(s) of the few under SOFA-status does nothing more than to fuel or perpetuate the negative stereotypes that the media, certain Okinawain/Japanese citizens, and right-wingers have of the USFJ?
Why do the “experts,” “analysts,” or other Japan pundits not point out “honne – tatemae” like responses in dealing with situations like this? Was the apology due to being guilty of rape or an apology for other charges that the military will use to punish Hadnott under the USMJ? Was it due to a loss of face? Did the USFJ, experts, linguists, and/or other bother to refute the use of language in the Japanese press in identifying the perp as a suspect, criminal, or rapist? What did the girl report? In my eyes Hadnott is definitely guilty of being stupid, unbecoming of a Marine, and for wanting to do X, Y, or Z with a minor. Guilty as charged on those three BUT what is the rest of the story? Please understand that I am not defending this guy but I am questioning how this incident was used to further certain causes.
Why did certain Japanese newspapers give no more than a paragraph or two to report that the Marine was released due to no charges being filed? No charges? No DNA? No evidence? Did the story pan out? Some say a payout/payoff! What? The last “actual” young rape victim that received big press received approximately $9000.00 in “gomen” or” I’m sorry money” (to keep it at the street term). Was this situation too much for a 14-year old and her parent(s) to handle? Most probably yes since she and her family have been blasted in Japanese language blogs and websites.
Wake up people. Nothing is dropped and kept quite in Japan out of respect of the victim UNLESS there was nothing to pursue on the Japanese-side. The media and certain elements would milk this until the cow ran dry. There is much to pursue on the US-side and I hope that the perp gets what he deserves. Whether we hear additional details of this in the media, behind the scenes bargaining is still going on. The only downside is that the Japanese government must now shine the light on the screw up by the Aegis crew / MOD in handling the accident that killed a fisherman and his son.
Stayed tuned, more news coming your way! There is ALWAYS more to the story!
Let me know what you think.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )What is the Japan-U.S. Joint Committee?
I have blogged about crimes committed by US military personnel and Japan’s knee-jerk reaction in dealing with the United States. The latest incident involves a 22-year old sailor, Olatunbosun Ugbogu, that alledgedly killed a Japanese taxi driver. The fact that the Nigerian national was not spotted reentering and leaving the base is likely to call into question the base’s security system. Before I get to much into the discussion, there are a few terms that the reader must understand: the Japan-US Joint Committee and the Status of Forces Agreement: (Source: MAINICHI (Page 3) (Abridged slightly), April 8, 2008)
Question: When a U.S. deserter from Yokosuka Naval Base was arrested on murder and robbery charges, newspapers reported that he was handed over based on a concurrence of the Japan-U.S. Joint Committee. What does the Japan-U.S. Joint Committee do?
Answer: It serves as a venue for the governments of Japan and the United States to discuss such matters as the use of bases by U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) and the legal status of U.S. service members. It is based on the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, which was concluded based on the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty. In the latest case, the U.S. sailor was in the custody of the U.S. military, so the Japanese side sought his handover through the Japan-U.S. Joint Committee, and the U.S. side agreed to do so.
Q: Difficult. What is the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)?
A: It is a treaty specifying arrangements requiring Japan to provide USFJ with facilities and areas and criminal procedures against U.S. service members suspected to have committed crimes. Under the SOFA, the United States is not required to hand over service members before indictment. But a schoolgirl rape incident in Okinawa in 1995 resulted in strong calls in Japan for revision of the SOFA. Given the situation, the U.S. side has decided to hand over even before indictment its service members who are suspected to have committed heinous crimes, such as murder and rape. Since 1995, Japan has made five pre-indictment handover requests through the Joint Committee. Of them, the U.S. side agreed to do so in five cases.
Q: Who are the members of the Joint Committee?
A: The Japanese side is led by the North American Affairs Bureau chief of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the U.S. side by the USFJ deputy commander. Other Japanese members are mostly senior officials from the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry. But when, for instance, livestock is affected by a U.S. military drill, senior Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry officials join the committee, and when contamination of soil on a U.S. base becomes a problem, senior Environment Ministry officials do the same. The members meet about twice a month either at a MOFA conference room or the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo’s Minami-azabu in turn.
Q: Is what is determined there made public?
A: Agreements on return of land and other matters are posted in the Defense Ministry’s website, but sensitive military information, such as the sites of U.S. military communications facilities, is not made public. Because vital agreements connected to the Japan-U.S. security setup are reached by this framework, some people call the Japan-U.S. Joint Committee as the “security mafia.”
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )![Lake Dillon and a Tree [In Explore]](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53731226172_4004cbfea4_s.jpg "Lake Dillon and a Tree [In Explore]")
Black Tokyo Japan 
