The Tokyo High Court sentenced a man to life in prison Friday for the 2005 murder of a girl in Tochigi Prefecture, retaining a lower court's punishment but repealing its ruling for excessive reliance on interrogation footage. Takuya Katsumata, 36, who was arrested more than ...
Press failing to question the legal process
To ring in the new year, TBS Radio’s “Session 22” asked several notable people on Jan. 4 about their predictions for 2018. Michiko Kameishi, a human rights lawyer, commented that she is looking forward to three criminal trials that turn on confessions extracted from ...
Man gets life for Tochigi girl's murder despite lack of physical evidence
In a controversial decision, the Utsunomiya District Court sentences a man to life for killing a Tochigi girl after judging the case solely on confessions rather than physical evidence.
Seven hours of video show changes in accused Tochigi killer's demeanor
The trial of accused killer Takuya Katsumata saw more than seven hours of his interrogation videos emerge, showing him flip-flop from one stance to another during the process. On Tuesday, prosecutors at the Utsunomiya District Court demanded life imprisonment for Katsumata, who stands accused of ...
Tochigi court accepts murder confession as evidence despite coercion claims
The Utsunomiya District Court on Friday accepted as evidence interrogation records showing a man admitting to the murder of a 7-year-old girl in Tochigi Prefecture in 2005, despite the fact he made a not-guilty plea and said the confession was coerced. The credibility of the ...
Suspect in 2005 murder of Tochigi girl pleads innocent after initially confessing
Takuya Katsumata pleads not guilty as his trial opened over the slaying of a girl in Tochigi Prefecture in 2005 after initially confessing to the murder.
Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 7-year-old girl from Tochigi Prefecture eight years ago.
