Overview

• The Fukuoka District Court on October 2 found former teaching assistant Shota Shinohara, 25, guilty of professional negligence causing death in the Yanagawa beauty school barbecue accident.
• He received an 18-month prison sentence suspended for three years after prosecutors sought the same term, having admitted the charges and apologized to the bereaved family.
• According to the indictment, he poured disinfectant alcohol onto a charcoal grill during a May 24, 2023 school event, causing flames that engulfed four male students; one 18-year-old died on June 6 and three others were injured.
• Presiding Judge Yasuhiro Okamoto called the act extremely dangerous and said responsibility was not his alone given the then-director’s promotion of alcohol use and an environment where subordinates could not question instructions.
• Police referred the ex-director and another official in January 2024, but only Shinohara was indicted and the others were not prosecuted, consistent with a third-party report that highlighted institutional failings.