The Fukuoka District Court on Monday sentenced a former female nurse to six months in prison, suspended for three years, for removing the toenails of two elderly patients at a hospital in Fukuoka Prefecture in 2007. Prosecutors had sought a 10-month imprisonment for Satomi Ueda, 42, arguing that she caused the two female patients to bleed by clipping their toenails too deep with a nail clipper and such an act ‘‘is not considered proper treatment.’’
Ueda was fired by Kitakyushu Yahata Higashi Hospital in Kitakyushu after the incidents, and according to prosecutors, made false reports to doctors and the patients’ families. Her defense lawyer had claimed that the defendant had no intention of causing the bleeding and there were no problems from a medical standpoint arising from the internal bleeding observed in the patients. According to a complaint filed with the court, Ueda removed the right big toenail of an 89-year-old patient and removed the right big and middle toenails of a 70-year-old, both in June 2007.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Man arrested for fatally stabbing girlfriend in Tokyo apartment
A 24-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday, accused of stabbing his 25-year-old girlfriend in the apartment they shared in Nerima Ward.
Police said Ken Shiobara, a part-time employee, called emergency services just after 2 p.m. Wednesday, saying he had stabbed a woman. Officers from the Hikarigaoka police station rushed to the apartment, and found a woman bleeding from wounds to her back and other places, lying on the floor. Shiobara was sitting nearby with a knife beside him.
The woman was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. Shiobara admitted to stabbing his girlfriend, telling police they got into an argument and he lost control.
84-year-old woman apprehends 22-year-old burglar in Fukuoka
A 22-year-old man was arrested for theft on Sunday, accused of stealing a bag containing roughly 140,000 yen from the living room of a home in Fukuoka City. The suspect was apprehended by the home owner’s 84-year-old mother.
Police said Katsunori Kuruhara, 22, an unemployed resident of Fukuoka City, is accused of entering the home at around 10.30 a.m. Sunday morning, taking the bag from the living room. He was on his way out of the home, when Kimiko Nagamitsu, 84, stopped him in the kitchen.
Kuruhara was carrying an iron bar, and told Nagamitsu he was selling them, but she wouldn’t have a bar of it, grabbed both his arms and took him outside. Her 27-year-old granddaughter, who was in her bedroom on the second floor, heard the commotion and called police. Kuruhara was arrested at the scene and admitted to the allegations, police said.
Police said Nagamitsu, who is only 144 centimeters tall, was not injured in the incident. She was quoted as saying: “I wasn’t scared. I thought he might come back, or rob someone else, so I thought I’d better stop him.”
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Court rejects 'Kimigayo' suit by 172 teachers who refused to stand up
TOKYO —
The Tokyo District Court rejected on Thursday a damages suit filed by 172 Tokyo public school teachers, who claimed it is unconstitutional to punish them as they refused to stand up in front of the Hinomaru flag in singing the ‘‘Kimigayo’’ anthem at school ceremonies.
The order to do so ‘‘may go against the plaintiffs’ freedom of thought and conscience, but it is rational to ask the plaintiffs as public servants to engage in uniform activities at school ceremonies,’’ Presiding Judge Shigeru Nakanishi said, determining the court sees no unconstitutionality and illegality in the punishments on them.
Most of the plaintiffs have joined another lawsuit, in which the district court ruled in September 2006 that the metropolitan government and its education board cannot force teachers to sing ‘‘Kimigayo’’ in front of the Japanese flag or reprimand them for refusing to do so as such acts are infringements on freedom of thought guaranteed under the Constitution. The suits were filed after the local authorities issued a controversial notice in October 2003 demanding that public school employees stand and sing the national anthem in front of the Japanese flag during entrance and graduation ceremonies at schools.
The Tokyo District Court rejected on Thursday a damages suit filed by 172 Tokyo public school teachers, who claimed it is unconstitutional to punish them as they refused to stand up in front of the Hinomaru flag in singing the ‘‘Kimigayo’’ anthem at school ceremonies.
The order to do so ‘‘may go against the plaintiffs’ freedom of thought and conscience, but it is rational to ask the plaintiffs as public servants to engage in uniform activities at school ceremonies,’’ Presiding Judge Shigeru Nakanishi said, determining the court sees no unconstitutionality and illegality in the punishments on them.
Most of the plaintiffs have joined another lawsuit, in which the district court ruled in September 2006 that the metropolitan government and its education board cannot force teachers to sing ‘‘Kimigayo’’ in front of the Japanese flag or reprimand them for refusing to do so as such acts are infringements on freedom of thought guaranteed under the Constitution. The suits were filed after the local authorities issued a controversial notice in October 2003 demanding that public school employees stand and sing the national anthem in front of the Japanese flag during entrance and graduation ceremonies at schools.
Man held for punching 50-yr-old woman on Saitama train over playing games on cell phone
SAITAMA —
A 21-year-old man was arrested for assault on Wednesday, accused of punching a 50-year-old woman several times in her face, breaking her jaw, while on a Saikyo line train and in a train station office Wednesday morning, police said Thursday.
Police said Jun Ando, a computer programmer and resident of Toda City, became angry on the train bound for Shinkiba at around 8 a.m., after the woman asked him to stop playing games on his cell phone as the train was so crowded. Ando told her to shut up and sprayed her with some colorful language, before punching her several times.
He was restrained by several passengers until the train stopped at Toda Park station, where they escorted him off the train. They took him to the station office, but while in there with the woman and station staff, he punched the woman again, police said.
Ando admitted to assaulting the woman but told police there’s not much he can do about the crowded trains.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Man arrested for attempted murder after pushing woman off platform at Tokyo station
A 24-year-old man was arrested for attempted murder on Monday night, accused of pushing a 60-year-old woman off a platform and onto the train tracks at Tokyo station.
Police said the woman was waiting for a Chuo line rapid train on platform 1 of Tokyo station, when she was pushed from behind onto the tracks at about 8.10 p.m., and hit by the train arriving at the platform. The woman suffered injuries to her head and body, but was in a stable condition in hospital, police said Tuesday.
Police said Shusuke Ota, reportedly unemployed and suffering from a mental disability, ran away after pushing the woman off the platform but was caught and held by a station staff member and two other men until police arrived.
An eyewitness told police that one of the men yelled at him asking him if he knew what he had just done, and said that Ota was screaming that he had failed an employment exam and that the world did not need him. Ota later admitted to police he pushed the woman off the platform, saying he wanted to die, and did it to get the death penalty.
The woman was pushed from the platform where the front car of the train was about to stop. The train driver said he saw the woman on the tracks and applied the brakes. The train made contact with the woman at a low speed, police said.
Police said the woman was waiting for a Chuo line rapid train on platform 1 of Tokyo station, when she was pushed from behind onto the tracks at about 8.10 p.m., and hit by the train arriving at the platform. The woman suffered injuries to her head and body, but was in a stable condition in hospital, police said Tuesday.
Police said Shusuke Ota, reportedly unemployed and suffering from a mental disability, ran away after pushing the woman off the platform but was caught and held by a station staff member and two other men until police arrived.
An eyewitness told police that one of the men yelled at him asking him if he knew what he had just done, and said that Ota was screaming that he had failed an employment exam and that the world did not need him. Ota later admitted to police he pushed the woman off the platform, saying he wanted to die, and did it to get the death penalty.
The woman was pushed from the platform where the front car of the train was about to stop. The train driver said he saw the woman on the tracks and applied the brakes. The train made contact with the woman at a low speed, police said.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Chinese man, set to be deported, kills himself at Tokyo immigration facility
A Chinese man hanged himself in a room at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward where he has been detained for illegally staying in Japan, immigration officials said Saturday.
The man in his 30s, whose name was not disclosed by the authorities, died early Saturday at a Tokyo hospital after he was found hanged from the handle of a window using the cord of an electric pot at 9:15 a.m. Friday, the officials said.
The immigration authorities were in the process of deporting him.
The man in his 30s, whose name was not disclosed by the authorities, died early Saturday at a Tokyo hospital after he was found hanged from the handle of a window using the cord of an electric pot at 9:15 a.m. Friday, the officials said.
The immigration authorities were in the process of deporting him.
Statue thief claims he is just 'serious Buddhist'
Kyoto police on March 2 arrested a 59-year-old man for stealing Buddha statues from a temple in the city. They found 21 statues and 22 traditional Buddhism wall pictures at his house. Itsuo Abe told police he stole those items because he is a “serious Buddhist.”
“Abe’s wife works hard from morning to midnight at a factory that was founded by his parents,” says a neighbor. “I’ve never known him to support her. He just occupies his time on such hobbies as traveling and collecting antiques. He had a stroke a while back, and after that, he started collecting more items.”
Abe was quoted by police as saying, “I am a serious Buddhist and pray at home everyday.”
The chief priests of the temples in Kyoto where Abe stole the statues and other items, however, do not believe Abe’s motives.
One priest says, “Police told me that he put almost all the statues he has stolen above eye level. If he is really a serious Buddhist, he wouldn’t have done that. That is being rude toward Buddha. No devout Buddhist would do it.” He adds, “Also, I don’t understand how a serious Buddhist can pray to different deities.”
Police have returned the stolen Buddha statues and items to the temples in Kyoto. However, similar theft cases have been repeatedly reported in Kyoto since last year. Police have notified antique shops in the city, suspecting there is a black market for religious artifacts.
However, one antique shop owner says, “Looking at the items Abe stole, he first took cheaper stuff but gradually chose more valuable things. I think he learned to value the items properly. My guess is that he has a collection mania. I don’t think he planned to sell them.”
While Abe was devoting himself to his statue collection, his family was still working hard at a factory. One source close to them says, “On the day of his arrest, his wife and son were at home, closing the curtains. They said, ‘We can’t talk now. We have a deadline at the factory to meet.”
“Abe’s wife works hard from morning to midnight at a factory that was founded by his parents,” says a neighbor. “I’ve never known him to support her. He just occupies his time on such hobbies as traveling and collecting antiques. He had a stroke a while back, and after that, he started collecting more items.”
Abe was quoted by police as saying, “I am a serious Buddhist and pray at home everyday.”
The chief priests of the temples in Kyoto where Abe stole the statues and other items, however, do not believe Abe’s motives.
One priest says, “Police told me that he put almost all the statues he has stolen above eye level. If he is really a serious Buddhist, he wouldn’t have done that. That is being rude toward Buddha. No devout Buddhist would do it.” He adds, “Also, I don’t understand how a serious Buddhist can pray to different deities.”
Police have returned the stolen Buddha statues and items to the temples in Kyoto. However, similar theft cases have been repeatedly reported in Kyoto since last year. Police have notified antique shops in the city, suspecting there is a black market for religious artifacts.
However, one antique shop owner says, “Looking at the items Abe stole, he first took cheaper stuff but gradually chose more valuable things. I think he learned to value the items properly. My guess is that he has a collection mania. I don’t think he planned to sell them.”
While Abe was devoting himself to his statue collection, his family was still working hard at a factory. One source close to them says, “On the day of his arrest, his wife and son were at home, closing the curtains. They said, ‘We can’t talk now. We have a deadline at the factory to meet.”
More women in Japan enjoying a night out alone
“Over New Year,” a 30-year-old woman tells Shukan Asahi (March 27), “I rented a hotel suite and spent the night there all by myself, drinking wine in a bubble bath and reading a magazine.” She smiles. “Very elegant, don’t you think?”
Very. The key word is “all by myself”—which is how, Shukan Asahi finds, a growing number of women prefer to spend their time. It’s not that they don’t have friends and significant others. It’s that—well, who needs them? Their presence only spoils that certain special atmosphere you can only create in solitude.
Example follows example. A working woman with a 2-year-old daughter has to hire a babysitter anyway, so when she finishes work early, she treats herself to a solitary sushi dinner and then goes out for a drink or two. A 26-year-old Kansai-area freeter penny-pinches her meager earnings as best she can, and then, when she has enough, she treats herself to a first-class restaurant meal.
“Once I took the day off and went to Yokohama for a full-course French dinner. At the restaurants I like best,” she says, “I prefer to be alone.”
Doesn’t dining alone feel… well, lonely?
“No way,” she says. “Alone, you can really savor the taste of your food. You can take as much time as you like. With no friend or lover present, you can, for a while, live entirely for yourself.”
Shukan Asahi uses the expression “good at being alone,” as though it were a skill. If it is, more and more women are acquiring it—or maybe they were born with it.
“There are two main reasons,” says Tokyo University professor Chizuko Ueno, author of a book on the subject, “for the proliferation of ‘o-hitori-sama’”—the neologism coined to describe women soloing out on the town.
“First, women have stronger social skills than men”—which presumably give them confidence to venture alone into the sort of place where everyone else is matched with somebody. “Secondly, a woman is conventionally expected to adjust her behavior to the mood of her companion. It’s very stressful. No wonder they’ve come to think, ‘It’s more fun alone!’”
A staffer at a karaoke box in Tokyo’s Shibuya has noticed over the past two or three years a growing number of women coming in alone. “Now,” he says, these solitary women “make up 30% of our business.”
One of them is a third-year college student, who explains it this way: “When you’re with other people, you can only sing songs everyone knows, or songs that the others are in the mood for. You end up not singing what you want to sing. To work off the stress that builds up, I’ll come again on another day to sing alone.”
Then there’s the 25-year-old office worker whose idea of the perfect date is to leave her boyfriend at home and go where she wants to go by herself.
“I like the sort of places where people go on dates,” she tells Shukan Asahi. “He hates them. Sometimes he’ll let me drag him along, but it’s always, ‘This is no fun,’ ‘Let’s go home already.’ So I go on dates by myself. I’ll go to a nice place for lunch, then maybe to a planetarium, and then I’ll go to Yokohama for dinner at Chinatown.”
“I have a boyfriend, but to be honest,” says another young woman, putting the essence of the solitary social life in a nutshell,” it’s more fun without him.”
Very. The key word is “all by myself”—which is how, Shukan Asahi finds, a growing number of women prefer to spend their time. It’s not that they don’t have friends and significant others. It’s that—well, who needs them? Their presence only spoils that certain special atmosphere you can only create in solitude.
Example follows example. A working woman with a 2-year-old daughter has to hire a babysitter anyway, so when she finishes work early, she treats herself to a solitary sushi dinner and then goes out for a drink or two. A 26-year-old Kansai-area freeter penny-pinches her meager earnings as best she can, and then, when she has enough, she treats herself to a first-class restaurant meal.
“Once I took the day off and went to Yokohama for a full-course French dinner. At the restaurants I like best,” she says, “I prefer to be alone.”
Doesn’t dining alone feel… well, lonely?
“No way,” she says. “Alone, you can really savor the taste of your food. You can take as much time as you like. With no friend or lover present, you can, for a while, live entirely for yourself.”
Shukan Asahi uses the expression “good at being alone,” as though it were a skill. If it is, more and more women are acquiring it—or maybe they were born with it.
“There are two main reasons,” says Tokyo University professor Chizuko Ueno, author of a book on the subject, “for the proliferation of ‘o-hitori-sama’”—the neologism coined to describe women soloing out on the town.
“First, women have stronger social skills than men”—which presumably give them confidence to venture alone into the sort of place where everyone else is matched with somebody. “Secondly, a woman is conventionally expected to adjust her behavior to the mood of her companion. It’s very stressful. No wonder they’ve come to think, ‘It’s more fun alone!’”
A staffer at a karaoke box in Tokyo’s Shibuya has noticed over the past two or three years a growing number of women coming in alone. “Now,” he says, these solitary women “make up 30% of our business.”
One of them is a third-year college student, who explains it this way: “When you’re with other people, you can only sing songs everyone knows, or songs that the others are in the mood for. You end up not singing what you want to sing. To work off the stress that builds up, I’ll come again on another day to sing alone.”
Then there’s the 25-year-old office worker whose idea of the perfect date is to leave her boyfriend at home and go where she wants to go by herself.
“I like the sort of places where people go on dates,” she tells Shukan Asahi. “He hates them. Sometimes he’ll let me drag him along, but it’s always, ‘This is no fun,’ ‘Let’s go home already.’ So I go on dates by myself. I’ll go to a nice place for lunch, then maybe to a planetarium, and then I’ll go to Yokohama for dinner at Chinatown.”
“I have a boyfriend, but to be honest,” says another young woman, putting the essence of the solitary social life in a nutshell,” it’s more fun without him.”
Shoplifter arrested after spraying security guard at bookshop in Sapporo
A 61-year-old man was arrested for shoplifting at a bookshop in Sapporo on Sunday. Police said the suspect sprayed a security guard before fleeing. The security guard suffered minor injuries to his face, police said.
According to police, an employee of the bookshop spotted Toshio Sunaba shoplifting. He informed a security guard.
Sunaba sprayed an unidentified substance at the guard and ran off but the guard gave chase and apprehended him.
According to police, an employee of the bookshop spotted Toshio Sunaba shoplifting. He informed a security guard.
Sunaba sprayed an unidentified substance at the guard and ran off but the guard gave chase and apprehended him.
Tokyo girls prefer school uniform-like dresses
For teenage girls in Tokyo these days, a school uniform is not something evoking a spirit of discipline but something that symbolizes their sensitivity to trends in fashion.
An increasing number of female students in high schools and even some in junior high schools in Tokyo prefer going to school wearing uniform-like clothes even if they have not been told to wear a real uniform.
Yasuko Nakamura, president of Tokyo-based marketing company Boom Planning Co, said the trend is believed to have started around 2002, when she found one high school girl wearing different ‘‘uniforms’’ every time she saw her.
Nakamura later realized that what appeared to be school uniforms were in fact just their favorite dresses.‘‘The school uniform (for girls) used to be regarded as a symbol of an education with strict regulations. But today, wearing a uniform should be recognized as a privilege only for high school girls,’’ Nakamura said.
Many magazines for young girls feature topics on school uniform-like dress, approvingly called ‘‘nanchatte seifuku’’ (fake uniform), Nakamura said.Against the backdrop of such a trend, a boutique dealing exclusively with school uniform-like apparel opened in Tokyo’s trendy Harajuku district in February 2008.
Shizuka Fujioka is a TV personality who works at the boutique CONOMi. Fujioka is nicknamed the ‘‘charismatic coordinator’’ due to what her fans describe as her good sense in selecting clothes for potential customers.
The shop has seen the number of customers jump four-fold since its opening and is organizing an event called Brand School Uniform Collection 2009 to exhibit and sell uniform-like dresses in Tokyo which will run through April 6.
An increasing number of female students in high schools and even some in junior high schools in Tokyo prefer going to school wearing uniform-like clothes even if they have not been told to wear a real uniform.
Yasuko Nakamura, president of Tokyo-based marketing company Boom Planning Co, said the trend is believed to have started around 2002, when she found one high school girl wearing different ‘‘uniforms’’ every time she saw her.
Nakamura later realized that what appeared to be school uniforms were in fact just their favorite dresses.‘‘The school uniform (for girls) used to be regarded as a symbol of an education with strict regulations. But today, wearing a uniform should be recognized as a privilege only for high school girls,’’ Nakamura said.
Many magazines for young girls feature topics on school uniform-like dress, approvingly called ‘‘nanchatte seifuku’’ (fake uniform), Nakamura said.Against the backdrop of such a trend, a boutique dealing exclusively with school uniform-like apparel opened in Tokyo’s trendy Harajuku district in February 2008.
Shizuka Fujioka is a TV personality who works at the boutique CONOMi. Fujioka is nicknamed the ‘‘charismatic coordinator’’ due to what her fans describe as her good sense in selecting clothes for potential customers.
The shop has seen the number of customers jump four-fold since its opening and is organizing an event called Brand School Uniform Collection 2009 to exhibit and sell uniform-like dresses in Tokyo which will run through April 6.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
men get death sentence for Internet 'crime mates' killing
The Nagoya District Court on Wednesday sentenced two men to death and one to life in prison for murdering a woman in 2007, in a crime that caught public attention as an Internet site was used to attract ‘‘crime mates.’’
Tsukasa Kanda, a 38-year-old former newspaper salesman, and Yoshitomo Hori, 33, received death penalties, while Kenji Kawagishi, 42, was given a life term for voluntarily reporting to police after the slaying.
Hori and Kawagishi were unemployed at the time of the murder.According to the ruling, the defendants forced 31-year-old company employee, Rie Isogai, into a car on a road in Nagoya on the night of Aug 24, 2007, stole her money, beat her multiple times and strangled her with a rope. They later abandoned her body in a forest in Gifu Prefecture.
The murder case outraged the public, not only because of its cruelty but the fact that the three defendants met via a mobile phone Internet site seeking ‘‘crime mates.’’ The revelation led the court to mention specifically the nature of such Internet-linked crimes in its ruling as a ‘‘serious threat to society.’’
According to the Japan Federation of Bar Association, it was only the second ruling in the country that handed death sentences to more than one defendant for the murder of one person. The only previous case known to the association was a 1988 Supreme Court ruling that sent two to death row.
Presiding Judge Hiroko Kondo said the motives of the three left no grounds for leniency as ‘‘each of the three committed the crime for the purpose of getting some easy money.’’‘‘They did not listen to the victim’s pleas and carried out the criminal act,’’ Kondo said. ‘‘There was no mercy, and it was chilling act.’’
According to the prosecutors’ closing argument, Kawagishi turned himself in because he was afraid of facing the death penalty. The police found Isogai’s body and arrested Kanda and Hori based on Kawagishi’s account of the murder.
Two men steal Y210 million
Two men stole about 210 million yen from a cash-transporting vehicle Wednesday after pointing a handgun-like object at a security guard at a Japan Agricultural Cooperatives office in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, police said.
Mie prefectural police said the two men snatched two bags stuffed with cash when the guard was unloading them from the vehicle at a service entrance of the JA office building in the central Japan city. The guard was not injured and the men got away in a white car.
The guard was carrying a total of about 360 million yen in cash divided into four orange bags. The two suspects, wearing black baseball caps and sunglasses, appeared to be 170 to 180 centimeters in height.
Police are investigating whether the incident is connected with a robbery that took place at a consumer loan outlet in the same city on Dec. 24 last year. Two male suspects robbed the outlet of about 4 million yen.
Mie prefectural police said the two men snatched two bags stuffed with cash when the guard was unloading them from the vehicle at a service entrance of the JA office building in the central Japan city. The guard was not injured and the men got away in a white car.
The guard was carrying a total of about 360 million yen in cash divided into four orange bags. The two suspects, wearing black baseball caps and sunglasses, appeared to be 170 to 180 centimeters in height.
Police are investigating whether the incident is connected with a robbery that took place at a consumer loan outlet in the same city on Dec. 24 last year. Two male suspects robbed the outlet of about 4 million yen.
McDonald's, manager reach deal on overtime
McDonald’s Co (Japan) Ltd agreed Wednesday to pay some 10 million yen in settlement money to a manager at one of its restaurants under a deal to end a lawsuit between the two at the Tokyo High Court, the plaintiff’s lawyer said.
The hamburger chain and Hiroshi Takano, 47, agreed on the deal stating he does not correspond to a manager in reality and thus is entitled to receive overtime pay from the company. An employer does not have to pay overtime to managers, who are defined as part of its management, according to the Labor Standard Law.
The deal also calls on McDonald’s not to impose a demotion, transfer or pay cut on the plaintiff because of the litigation. Takano, manager at a McDonald’s restaurant in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, sued his employer saying he does not have any authority as a manager is only a ‘‘manager in name.’’
The hamburger chain and Hiroshi Takano, 47, agreed on the deal stating he does not correspond to a manager in reality and thus is entitled to receive overtime pay from the company. An employer does not have to pay overtime to managers, who are defined as part of its management, according to the Labor Standard Law.
The deal also calls on McDonald’s not to impose a demotion, transfer or pay cut on the plaintiff because of the litigation. Takano, manager at a McDonald’s restaurant in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, sued his employer saying he does not have any authority as a manager is only a ‘‘manager in name.’’
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Handcuffed man escapes police after molesting woman in Aichi
A man is on the run with handcuffs on his left wrist after he got away from police who had arrested him for molesting a woman on the street in Toyokawa City, Aichi Prefecture, on Tuesday night, police said Wednesday.
According to authorities, two officers spotted the unidentified man, who is in his 20s, molesting the woman around 8:45 p.m. They approached the man who resisted arrest. As one police officer put the handcuffs on the suspect’s left wrist, he struggled and sprinted away with the cuffs dangling from his hand. The officers gave chase, but the man eluded them by jumping over a fence.
Police said the man is about 170 cm tall and was wearing a black jacket and beige pants.
According to authorities, two officers spotted the unidentified man, who is in his 20s, molesting the woman around 8:45 p.m. They approached the man who resisted arrest. As one police officer put the handcuffs on the suspect’s left wrist, he struggled and sprinted away with the cuffs dangling from his hand. The officers gave chase, but the man eluded them by jumping over a fence.
Police said the man is about 170 cm tall and was wearing a black jacket and beige pants.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Two men arrested for pouring water from apartment balcony onto people below
Two men were arrested for assault on Sunday, accused of pouring water from an 11th floor apartment balcony in Minato Ward onto people walking on the street below.
Police said Keitaro Hagiwara, 24, an unemployed man who lives in the apartment, and his friend, Katsunori Yamana, 25, are accused of using a 45-liter bucket to pour water on a 41-year old man and his 3-year-old son at around 1 p.m. on March 10. Police said that there had been five cases reported to police since February of people being drenched in water as they passed the 11-floor apartment block.
Police said that while no one was injured in the reported cases and that it was rare for them to pursue charges relating to splashing or attacking people with water, they noted it was possible someone could be injured and that the incidents had caused concern amongst residents.
Hagiwara and Yamana have admitted to pouring the water from the 30-meter-high balcony, adding that while they did it for fun, they now regret their actions.
Police said Keitaro Hagiwara, 24, an unemployed man who lives in the apartment, and his friend, Katsunori Yamana, 25, are accused of using a 45-liter bucket to pour water on a 41-year old man and his 3-year-old son at around 1 p.m. on March 10. Police said that there had been five cases reported to police since February of people being drenched in water as they passed the 11-floor apartment block.
Police said that while no one was injured in the reported cases and that it was rare for them to pursue charges relating to splashing or attacking people with water, they noted it was possible someone could be injured and that the incidents had caused concern amongst residents.
Hagiwara and Yamana have admitted to pouring the water from the 30-meter-high balcony, adding that while they did it for fun, they now regret their actions.
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