
National / Crime & Legal Mar 31, 2020
Mika Nishiyama was indicted after admitting to killing the patient in 2004, but she later retracted her confession, saying she had been coerced by investigators.
Mika Nishiyama was indicted after admitting to killing the patient in 2004, but she later retracted her confession, saying she had been coerced by investigators.
In Shiga nurse's murder conviction, her disability was never an issue
Mika Nishiyama made a false confession and served 12 years. Then she was diagnosed as having an intellectual disability, ADHD and autism spectrum disorder.
What pushed this Shiga assistant nurse to falsely confess to murder?
Why did Mika Nishiyama, a former assistant nurse who served 12 years in prison for murdering a male patient in 2003, falsely confess to killing him?
Apparent false conviction brings Japan's justice system back into the spotlight
After already having served a 12-year prison sentence following her conviction for murdering a patient, former assistant nurse Mika Nishiyama, 40, is expected to finally be acquitted on March 31.
Otsu court sentences woman to 4½ years for crash that killed toddlers
A court on Monday sentenced a 53-year-old woman to 4½ years in prison in prison for causing a traffic accident that killed two toddlers last May in western Japan. According to the ruling, Fumiko Shintate was convicted of negligent driving resulting in death and injury ...
Muddy waters: The battle to save Japan's ailing freshwater pearl industry
While Lake Biwa played a key role in the establishment of a domestic freshwater pearl industry, farmers are now facing a bleak future.
Former assistant nurse in Shiga set to be acquitted in retrial over 2003 murder
A former assistant nurse convicted of murdering a patient in 2003 was set to be exonerated Monday after prosecutors chose not to contest new evidence presented by her defense team during the first hearing of her retrial. Mika Nishiyama, 40, was found guilty in 2005 ...
Former assistant nurse set to be acquitted in retrial of 2003 Shiga hospital murder case
Lawyers for the convicted nurse said prosecutors decided not to argue against her acquittal in the case where she was accused of murdering a patient in 2003.
The transport ministry will provide subsidies to help municipalities take safety measures to reduce the amount of vehicular traffic in areas close to nursery schools and other facilities where children are present.
Hive of activity: Tapping into the buzz of backyard beekeeping in Japan
The importance of bees to Japan's agricultural sector certainly isn't lost on domestic hobbyists.
Okinawa farm kicks off vanilla bean project to employ the poor and disabled
Taking a cue from soaring world prices for vanilla, an Okinawa farm has started cultivating the valuable spice in an initiative aimed at promoting the employment of low-income workers and people with disabilities. Vanilla, called "green gold" for the prices it fetches, requires a labor-intensive ...
Fatal traffic mishaps put drivers in the media spotlight
"Heartbreaking accidents have continued to occur although measures have been taken," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said ruefully at a meeting of government officials on May 21. Specifically, Abe was referring to two recent traffic incidents that occurred less than three weeks apart. He hopes someone ...