SAITAMA — The suspect in the death of three people in Saitama Prefecture was sent to prosecutors Tuesday on a charge of murdering one of the victims.   The three people found dead on Sunday morning at a house in Hanno in the prefecture have been identified as the married couple that lived there and their daughter, according to the….Read more

It emerged recently that 22 officers at Nagoya Prison in central Japan had repeatedly assaulted three inmates. Twenty years ago, guards at the same facility abused prisoners, which resulted in death and injury, leading the national government to take action.   We are left stunned at the fact that the institution that became the starting point of Japan’s prison reform….Read more

TBS’s regular evening news program “News 23” carried a 10-minute report on Thursday on the growing number of cases of a SIM swap scam in Japan, explaining that this is a type of account-takeover fraud that targets a weakness in two-factor authentication in which the second factor or step is a text message (SMS) or call placed to a mobile….Read more

Fuji TV reported that the Tokyo police arrested a 26-year-old university student from Osaka for trespassing on the premises of Kodansha, a publishing company, in Tokyo last night, noting that he is the same individual who was prosecuted and fined for attempting to throw gunpowder into the U.S. Embassy in August. The suspect, who was arrested at the scene after….Read more

Fuji TV reported at noon that on Saturday the Japanese Fisheries Agency arrested the captain of a Chinese coral fishing boat in Japan’s EEZ off Nagasaki for refusing to obey an order to stop his boat’s engine. The Chinese captain (54) reportedly explained that he “saw a foreign patrol boat approaching, became frightened, and fled.” According to the network, the….Read more

TOKYO — Approaching and coaxing anxious or troubled children for the purpose of indecent acts is known as “grooming” in criminal jargon. Japan’s Ministry of Justice is considering penalizing grooming, as a number of children, mainly middle and high school students, have become victims of sexual crimes by people they have met through social media.   What is the technique….Read more

NHK reported on Tuesday that prosecutors have indicted a 29-year-old Yokosuka-based U.S. service member for allegedly injuring four people by knocking them down from behind on a street in Zushi on the evening of July 9. One of the victims reportedly sustained serious injuries to her face. The network said that the police sent papers to the prosecutors last month….Read more

On the morning of Nov. 7, an unemployed 34-year-old American man was arrested on the spot in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, on suspicion of assaulting his two-year-old daughter, including causing injuries by kicking her.   According to the police investigation, the man is suspected of committing violence against his two-year-old daughter at his home, including injuring her by kicking her….Read more

Yomiuri and Sankei reported on the finding that the two U.S. nationals who were sentenced to serve time in a Japanese prison for helping former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn escape Japan were transferred to the United States in late October. The papers said the measure was based on the prisoner transfer agreement. 

TOKYO — Two Americans who were in prison for helping former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn jump bail and flee Japan in 2019 have been sent back to the United States based on a treaty to transfer prisoners, sources close to the matter said Monday.   Michael Taylor, a 62-year-old former Green Beret, was sentenced to two years in….Read more