Japan | Death sentence finalized for man over 2021 murder, arson as minor

KOFU, Japan (Kyodo) -- The death sentence has been finalized for a 21-year-old man convicted of murder and arson as a minor in 2021 after he withdrew an appeal, a Japanese court said Friday.

The defense team for Yuki Endo filed the appeal on the deadline Thursday, but the defendant withdrew it later in the day, the Kofu District Court said.

The ruling handed down last month became the first instance of capital punishment given to an offender who was 19 at the time of the crime and whose name was revealed under a 2022 revision of the Juveniles Law.

The change in the law allowed the media to reveal the identities of indicted 18- and 19-year-old offenders.

Throughout his trial, Endo said he had no intention of appealing the court's decision, but he appeared conflicted during an interview with Kyodo News a week after the verdict, saying he would like to think about whether to appeal the ruling until the cutoff date even though the sentencing was in line with his wishes.

His defense had requested a lighter sentence, arguing that there was still the potential for the defendant to reform.

But Presiding Judge Jun Mikami ruled such possibility was low and said Endo's age "should not be a reason to avoid the death penalty."

Endo fatally stabbed the 55-year-old father and 50-year-old mother of a female acquaintance at their home in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Oct. 12, 2021, after she refused to go on a date with him, according to the ruling.

He also injured the acquaintance's younger sister and set fire to the house, the ruling said. The acquaintance was not injured.

Endo is the eighth person given the death penalty for crimes committed as a minor under the so-called Nagayama standard introduced in 1983. The standard takes into account factors such as the number of victims, brutality and social impact of the crime when sentencing offenders who committed the acts as minors.

Source: mainichi.jp, Staff, February 2, 2024

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