Tokyo police have turned over to prosecutors their defamation case against the president of Shinchosha Co. and seven others involved in a series of stories suggesting foul play in the deaths of four women, sources said Thursday.
The articles appeared in Focus, a weekly photo magazine, in 2000. They insinuated that a May 2000 car accident in Kumamoto Prefecture which killed four people had been caused by the head of a local medical corporation who was after insurance payouts.
The papers sent by the Metropolitan Police Department name Shinchosha President Takanobu Sato, former Focus Editor Igo Yamamoto and six others, including reporters who wrote and edited the articles.