News On Japan

Japan restaurant chain ordered to pay damages over raw-meat food poisoning deaths

Mar 14 (Japan Times) - The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday ordered restaurant chain operator Foods Forus Co. to pay ¥169 million ($1.58 million) to the families of three victims who died from food poisoning after eating raw meat at one of its barbecue restaurants in 2011.

While the court awarded damages to the plaintiffs, it ruled that the former president of Foods Forus, which is filing for special liquidation, was not guilty of gross negligence. The plaintiffs had sought around ¥209 million in damages and medical treatment expenses from the company and the former president.

Around 180 customers developed symptoms of food poisoning after dining at six Yakiniku-zakaya Ebisu restaurants in four prefectures - Kanagawa, Toyama, Ishikawa, and Fukui - in April 2011. A strain of E. coli, O-111, was found in many of the victims.

Five died due to illness. Nine plaintiffs, including the families of three who died after eating at the outlet in Tonami, Toyama Prefecture, sued the company and the former president in October 2014.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

New Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Ishiba is moving forward with personnel appointments, aiming to appoint former Defense Minister Iwaya as the new Foreign Minister.

Japanese weather officials say that over the next few days Typhoon Krathon will likely approach the southwestern islands of Okinawa Prefecture. (NHK)

Autumn foliage is advancing early in the Tateyama region of the Northern Alps in Toyama Prefecture, with vibrant red and yellow hues starting to appear.

The Hakamada case, a decades-long legal struggle, ended with an acquittal for Iwao Hakamada (88), who, along with his sister Hideko, fought for 58 years. Hakamada was suspected of the 1966 murder of a miso company executive’s family.

A Japanese government information-gathering satellite has successfully been put into a planned orbit around Earth. (NHK)

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

A large dog was caught on camera running down a road in Yoshioka, Gunma Prefecture, with police officers wielding nets in hot pusuit.

A 17-year-old girl was found dead in a hotel in Osaka on Saturday at around 11 p.m., when a hotel employee reported, 'A woman is wrapped in bedding and not breathing.'

Three men broke into the Paris home of renowned chef Kei Kobayashi, 47, who has earned three Michelin stars, on September 26th, assaulting Kobayashi's wife who suffered severe injuries. Kobayashi commented, saying, 'This is unforgivable.'

Four Japanese men have been caught at an Australian airport on suspicion of trying to smuggle a large amount of cigarettes into the country. (NHK)

The Hakamada case, a decades-long legal struggle, ended with an acquittal for Iwao Hakamada (88), who, along with his sister Hideko, fought for 58 years. Hakamada was suspected of the 1966 murder of a miso company executive’s family.

Japan's National Police Agency is introducing new patrol cars equipped with red lights designed to assist people with hearing impairments, flashing differently depending on whether the vehicle is on an emergency run or a routine patrol.

The former representative of the martial arts event company 'Breaking Down,' Yugo Itagaki, along with two other individuals, has been arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police on charges of defrauding a company executive out of 80 million yen.

Strange incidents involving a woman placing black tape on outlets have been occurring around zoos in the Izu area of Shizuoka Prefecture.