Man given 4 years in prison for arson in Korean community

A Japanese court sentenced a 23-year-old man to four years in prison on Tuesday for setting fire to empty houses in a community of Korean residents in Kyoto Prefecture a year ago, in a case seen by the residents as a hate crime.

The ruling by the Kyoto District Court in the trial of Shogo Arimoto was in line with the sentence demanded by prosecutors, who argued in previous hearings that he committed the crime "out of a hatred of Koreans." The defendant had admitted to the charges.

"(The act) was very selfish and based on prejudice and hatred toward 'zainichi' (ethnic Korean residents) and Korean people -- people of a particular background," said Presiding Judge Keisuke Masuda.

Arimoto had also been implicated in arson attacks at two buildings associated with South Korea in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, in July 2021.

According to the ruling, the unemployed man started a blaze in an unoccupied wooden house in the Utoro district of ethnic Koreans in Kyoto's Uji last August that left seven buildings gutted or damaged.

Although no one was injured, the fire also burned down about 40 signs that used to stand on Utoro streets that were due to have been put on display at the Utoro Peace Memorial Museum. ...continue reading