The former head of a parents association at a school in Chiba Prefecture pleaded innocent Monday to murdering a 9-year-old Vietnamese girl who attended the same school.
As his trial opened at the Chiba District Court, Yasumasa Shibuya, 47, denied killing Le Thi Nhat Linh.
"All (the allegations) are wrong," he told the court. "I am not involved in the case. I am innocent and plead not guilty."