The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by a man who was ordered to pay ¥42 million in damages to the family of an elementary school teacher he murdered in 1978.
The man killed the 29-year-old teacher in August at a school in Adachi Ward, Tokyo, and buried her body beneath his house. He turned himself in to police in August 2004, after the 15-year statute of limitations for murder in place at the time had expired.
While this allowed the man to avoid prison over criminal charges, the courts ruled the family still had a civil case even though the 20-year statute of limitations had expired by the time they sued in 2005, because the lack of a body technically prevented them from suing in the first place.