The Kobe District Court on Friday acquitted three former presidents of West Japan Railway Co. over the horrific 2005 train derailment that killed 107 people and injured more than 560 in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture.
Masataka Ide, 78, Shojiro Nanya, 72, and Takeshi Kakiuchi, 69, were each found not guilty by a three-judge panel presided over by Eiichi Miyazaki.
Court-appointed prosecutors had sought three-year terms for each of the three defendants for allegedly neglecting their duties and causing the fatal accident on the JR Fukuchiyama Line on April 25, 2005, in Amagasaki. The driver and 106 passengers died.