Latest news with #ShigaPrefecturalPolice
Japan Times
18-07-2025
- Japan Times
Shiga government ordered to compensate ex-assistant nurse acquitted of murder
A district court on Thursday ordered the Shiga Prefectural Government to pay about ¥31 million ($208,728) in damages to a former assistant nurse acquitted of murdering a patient. Sosuke Ikeda, presiding judge at the Otsu District Court, said in the ruling that the investigation of Mika Nishiyama, 45, by officers of the Shiga Prefectural Police department went beyond socially acceptable levels. Meanwhile, the court rejected Nishiyama's claim for damages from the Japanese government, saying her indictment by public prosecutors was reasonable to a certain degree. The plaintiff side plans to appeal against the ruling. Police arrested Nishiyama in 2004 on suspicion of murdering a male patient at Koto Memorial Hospital in the city of Higashiomi, formerly the town of Koto, in Shiga Prefecture based on her confession during police investigations. She retracted her confession and pleaded not guilty during her trial, but the Supreme Court finalized a 12-year prison sentence in 2007. After Nishiyama finished her prison term, a retrial was granted to her as a high court acknowledged that there were suspicions over the credibility of her confession. The high court's decision was endorsed by the Supreme Court, and her acquittal was finalized in the retrial in April 2020. She sued the central and prefectural governments for damages totaling some ¥54 million in December the same year. The plaintiff side argued that the police officers who were in charge of investigating Nishiyama led her intentionally to make a false confession by abusing her easily swayed character. It said that the police deliberately concealed evidence by not sending to prosecutors an investigation report suggesting the possibility of the male patient having died naturally. Nishiyama's side also said it was illegal for prosecutors to have indicted her without fully examining evidence such as the cause of the patient's death. The defense side rebutted by saying that necessary investigations were conducted based on reasonable grounds. It called for the dismissal of her retrial plea, saying there was nothing illegal in the law-enforcement authorities' investigations. "We will consider our response after examining the ruling in detail," said Makoto Kibayashi, chief of the inspection office of the prefectural police. "As we see it, we think that the central government's claim was basically accepted," said Hiroharu Nakayama, deputy chief prosecutor at the Otsu District Public Prosecutors Office.
Tokyo Reported
12-07-2025
- Tokyo Reported
Indian national accused of raping school girl in Shiga hotel
SHIGA (TR) – Shiga Prefectural Police have arrested a 24-year-old male Indian national over the alleged rape of a high school girl in Otsu City last month, reports the Kyoto Shimbun (July 10). Between approximately 12:40 a.m. and 1:20 a.m. on June 21, the unnamed suspect, a temporary worker, is alleged to have strangled and sexually assaulted the girl at a hotel. Upon his arrest on suspicion of non-consensual sexual intercourse, the suspect, who lives in Otsu, denied the allegations. 'I did not force her,' he told the Otsu Police Station. According to police, the suspect and the high school girl did not know each other. Before the incident, he went with her to the front of the hotel under the pretense of asking for directions. He then forced her into his room.
Tokyo Reported
28-06-2025
- Tokyo Reported
‘I never thought a priest would deceive people' – Shiga police reveal investment fraud
SHIGA (TR) – Shiga Prefectural Police have arrested a male Shinto priest from a shrine in Shizuoka Prefecture for illegally collecting cash under the pretext of investment, reports ABC News (June 26). Between March and July of last year, Hidemoto Kojima, 64, a priest based in Iwata City, is suspected of illegally collecting a total of 22 million yen in cash from a man in his 40s and a woman in her 50s, both from Shiga Prefecture. Kojima allegedly offered investment opportunities in foreign exchange and other products with the promise of high dividends and principal guarantees. Police have not revealed whether Kojima has admitted to violating the Investment Law. Hidemoto Kojima (X) According to police, Kojima, who serves as the leader of the religious group Enshu Izumo, used his position as a Shinto priest to gain the trust of others by claiming to offer 'principal guarantees' and 'high dividends.' The incident came to light when an investor contacted the police. The person said, 'I never thought a priest would deceive people.' Kojima is believed to have used his position as a priest to collect hundreds of millions of yen from at least 40 people. The investigation is ongoing.
