Indefinite Term Sought for Murder of Otsu Probation Officer

Otsu, Shiga Pref., Feb. 24 (Jiji Press)–Japanese prosecutors on Tuesday sought an indefinite prison term for a 36-year-old unemployed man for murdering a volunteer probation officer in Otsu in the western prefecture of Shiga during his probation in May 2024. The key issue of the lay-judge trial at Otsu District Court is whether the defendant, Kohei Iitsuka, has the capacity to bear criminal responsibility for killing Hiroshi Shinjo, 60, while he was on probation for robbing a convenience store. The ruling is set for Monday. During previous hearings, the prosecutors claimed that the defendant had thought that the government was to blame for his failure to get a job and that he attempted to get revenge on the state by killing the probation officer, thereby damaging the probation officer system. The prosecutors asserted that the defendant is fully competent to bear responsibility for the murder as the crime stemmed from his personality. Meanwhile, the defendant admitted to the charges, saying that he acted under the influence of what he called a guardian god. The defense argued that Iitsuka was not mentally competent or had diminished capacity to take responsibility as he had become ruled by what was believed to be his guardian deity after he was bullied when he was a junior high school student. According to the indictment, the defendant fatally stabbed and slashed Shinjo in the chest and neck several times with a knife and an ax on May 24, 2024, during an interview conducted at the probation officer’s house. Shinjo died from hemorrhagic shock. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]