The Kyoto District Court sentenced a 50-year-old man Friday to life in prison for the 2002 murder of a man in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, based solely on circumstantial evidence.
The case is unusual because the only blood and parts of the body of 52-year-old Masaki Hayashi were found and the cause of death was never established.
There were no witnesses or any direct evidence, and the defendant, Akio Karino, has maintained he is innocent.
While acknowledging that details of the murder would have to remain "unknown," the court ruled that the circumstantial evidence showed Karino committed the crime.