The Saitama District Court on Wednesday sentenced a former police sergeant to eight years in prison for attempting to murder a superintendent from the Saitama Prefectural Police by setting fire to the superintendent's home.
Presiding Judge Kaoru Kanayama called 45-year-old Shoji Nagashima's actions "a vicious crime committed by an incumbent police officer," which "eroded trust in the police and had grave repercussions on society."
According to the court, Nagashima planned to murder his former boss, Kunihide Motegi, and Motegi's family because of a grudge he bore over job assignments.
On Oct. 7, Nagashima prepared two gasoline bombs before using gasoline to set fire to the entrance of Motegi's apartment, the Saitama District Court ruled.
The fire damaged the apartment's door and shoe cupboard and left Motegi with burns to his legs.
Nagashima was fired from the Saitama Prefectural Police on Feb. 9 after being indicted on separate charges of threatening another former superior.