The Supreme Court on Monday overturned a high court reversal and upheld a lay judge acquittal of a man tried for drug-smuggling.
Monday's ruling marked the first acquittal handed down in a lay judge trial to be finalized by the Supreme Court since the lay judge system debuted in 2009. The case was also landmark in that it was the first acquittal to have been overturned by a high court.
Kikuo Anzai, 61, was indicted for allegedly smuggling nearly 1 kg of stimulants in a bag into Narita airport from Malaysia in November 2009.