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22h ago

Japanese Courts Deliver Four Major Rulings on Mercy Killing, Retrial Acquittal, Juvenile Responsibility and State Liability

Recent rulings have tested Japan's balance between compassion for the vulnerable, transparency in evidence, accountability for juvenile offenders, state responsibility for evidence management.

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Overview

  • Yokohama District Court on July 16 sentenced an 85-year-old caregiver to three years in prison with five years’ probation after finding he strangled his wife under extreme caregiving distress and then surrendered himself.
  • Nagoya High Court Kanazawa Branch on July 18 overturned Maekawa Akiji’s 1986 conviction in the Fukui schoolgirl killing, citing newly disclosed evidence that contradicted the prosecution’s timeline of witness accounts.
  • Chiba prosecutors on July 18 determined a 15-year-old had criminal responsibility for the May 11 stabbing death of an 84-year-old woman in Chiba City and referred him to family court.
  • Osaka District Court on July 18 rejected a former prison officer’s request for about ¥124 million in state compensation over 71 lost cigarette-butt samples from a 2002 mother-child murder trial, ruling the missing items were not critical evidence.
  • Prosecutors have indicated they may appeal the retrial acquittal to the Supreme Court, underscoring ongoing debate over evidence disclosure and post-conviction review in Japan.