National / Crime & Legal Mar 22, 2016
Prosecutors seek life for suspect in 2005 Tochigi girl murder
A life sentence is sought for the man accused of murdering a girl in Tochigi Prefecture in 2005 even as doubts emerge over his shifting confessions.
National / Crime & Legal Aug 18, 2015
Body found in Osaka parking lot confirmed as that of missing 13-year-old girl
The body of a girl found in a parking lot in Osaka Prefecture last week was confirmed Tuesday to be that of a 13-year-old who went missing with a boy from her school a day earlier, police said. Natsumi Hirata, a first-year junior high school ...
National / Crime & Legal Aug 17, 2015
Girl's bound body found in Osaka parking lot
The body of a girl — arms tied behind her back, her face nearly completely covered with duct tape and with over 30 knife wounds — was recently discovered in an Osaka Prefecture parking lot, and a security camera recorded two suspicious vehicles stopping ...
World / Social Issues Aug 14, 2015
Paraguay girl, 11, who was denied abortion after alleged rape by stepdad gives birth
An 11-year-old Paraguayan girl who had been denied an abortion gave birth on Thursday, the culmination of a case that put a spotlight on child rape in the poor South American nation and drew criticism from human rights groups. Elizabeth Torales, a lawyer for the ...
National / Crime & Legal Jul 6, 2015
Missing Nara girl found alive; man held for kidnapping
A 26-year-old man arrested Sunday for allegedly confining an 11-year-old schoolgirl has admitted to kidnapping her, the Nara Prefectural Police said Monday. "I forced her into my car," the police quoted Masaru Ito as saying. Ito, of Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, also allegedly said he saw the ...
National / Crime & Legal Apr 24, 2015
Four held in Chiba after teen's body found near Narita airport
Two men and two minors are held on suspicion of abducting a female teenager listed as missing in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture.
World / Science & Health Mar 23, 2015
Chilean girl with illness changes mind about euthanasia
An ailing Chilean girl who made a public plea for permission to end her life has had a change of heart, according to her father. Fredy Maureira told The Associated Press on Sunday that his 14-year-old daughter, Valentina, has changed her mind after meeting people ...
World / Crime & Legal Mar 11, 2015
Frenchman gets three years for helping girl of 14 to go to Syria to marry Islamic State fighter
A French court sentenced a man on Tuesday to three years in jail for helping a 14-year-old girl who wanted to travel to Syria to marry an Islamic State fighter there. The sentencing underscored how French authorities are cracking down not only on volunteer jihadis ...
World Feb 16, 2015
Female suicide bomber kills 16 in northeast Nigeria
A teenage female suicide bomber blew herself up at crowded bus station in northeast Nigeria on Sunday, killing at least 16 and wounding 30 others. Most of the victims were children who had either been selling peanuts or begging for money at the time of ...
National / Crime & Legal Jan 16, 2015
Sasebo girl may face prosecution: sources
Prosecutors on Friday handed the teenager suspected of murdering and dismembering her classmate last July to the Sasebo Police Station in Nagasaki Prefecture for safekeeping while she awaits her family court trial and potential criminal charges. Prosecutors have completed psychiatric tests on the 16-year-old, whose ...
National / Science & Health Nov 25, 2014
Transplant success: Boy under 10 gets heart of girl under 6
Osaka University Hospital says it has successfully transplanted the heart from a girl under the age of 6 into a boy aged under 10. The girl was declared brain dead on Sunday. Her liver and other organs were harvested for transplantation after her family gave ...
National / Crime & Legal Sep 24, 2014
Neighbors of slain Kobe girl express shock and anger; ID card led police to suspect
Residents here expressed shock and anger at the news that a missing 6-year-old girl had been found dead, her body hacked to pieces. Mirei Ikuta attended the local Nakura City Elementary School, where staff paid tribute. "I am overcome by extreme grief," said Masahiro Hirai, the ...