Overview
- At the Kushiro District Court, Shiretoko tour boat operator Seiichi Katsurada pleaded not guilty to professional negligence resulting in death, with defense arguing the 2022 sinking was not foreseeable; a verdict is scheduled for June 17 next year.
- Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police arrested anti-gang Assistant Inspector Daisuke Jinbo, 43, on suspicion of leaking investigative information to the large scouting group Natural, a case stemming from a probe launched more than five years ago.
- The Fukuoka High Court’s Naha branch labeled the July Upper House election’s maximum 3.13-fold vote disparity a state of unconstitutionality, joining recent similar rulings by the Sapporo and Sendai high courts.
- The Liberal Democratic Party and the Constitutional Democratic Party secretaries-general agreed to pursue broad, multi-party discussions on reducing the number of Lower House seats.
- Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, asked about revisiting Japan’s Three Non-Nuclear Principles during security document updates, said the government will examine options and declined to pre-judge outcomes.