Ex-US base worker gets life for 2016 slaying

Dec 02, 2017 | News On Japan

Dec 02, 2017 (NHK) - A Japanese court has sentenced a former civilian worker at a US base in Okinawa, southern Japan, to life in prison for murdering a woman.

The 33-year-old defendant is former US Marine Kenneth Franklin Shinzato. He was accused of assaulting the 20-year-old woman with intent to rape her and of killing her on a road in Uruma City in April, 2016. Shinzato was employed by a firm inside the US Kadena Air Base compound at the time.

Prosecutors sought a life sentence.

The defendant admitted to trying to rape the victim and abandoning her body, but denied any intent to kill her.

In a ruling on Friday, presiding judge Toshihiro Shibata at the District Court in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, said the defendant showed a murderous intent. He said the defendant's intent coupled with his actions amounted to murder.

The judge noted that Shinzato had beaten the victim about the head and stabbed her in the neck with a knife. He said these actions involved a high risk of causing her death and that the defendant was aware of that.

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.