Man Gets Indefinite Term for Killing Probation Officer in Japan

Otsu, Shiga Pref., March 2 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese court on Monday gave an indefinite prison term to a 36-year-old man, in line with public prosecutors’ demand, for murdering a volunteer probation officer in charge of him in Otsu in the western prefecture of Shiga in 2024. Otsu District Court Presiding Judge Maki Taniguchi said that the man, Kohei Iitsuka, “made light of life remarkably” and that “the maliciousness of the crime is comparable to that of indiscriminate murder.” The key issue of the lay-judge trial is whether the defendant has the capacity to bear criminal responsibility for killing the probation officer, Hiroshi Shinjo, 60, while he was on probation over a different case of crime. On this, the judge said that Iitsuka’s psychological state leading up to the murder can be reasonably explained while noting that the defendant had developmental disabilities. As to the defendant’s claim that he “followed the voice of his guardian deity,” the judge recognized his full criminal responsibility, saying, “He just confirmed his own thoughts in the form of questions.” Regarding Iitsuka’s motive, the judge said the defendant, who tried to damage the country’s probation system, “used the victim, against whom he had no personal grudge, as a tool to express his misdirected anger at the government.” The prosecution had argued that Iitsuka was fully responsible for his action, stating that the murder had a serious negative impact on the volunteer probation officer system. The defense contended that a fixed-term sentence was appropriate, claiming that the defendant had no criminal responsibility or was in a state of diminished capacity at the time. In his final statement in the trial, Iitsuka said that it was the “biggest mistake” in his life to carry out the crime. According to the ruling, he stabbed Shinjo several times in the chest and neck with a knife and an ax during an interview on the night of May 24, 2024, causing the victim to die from hemorrhagic shock. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]