OSAKA (TR) — The Osaka High Court on May 12 dismissed an enchantment by prosecutors, upholding the acquittal of a high-ranking yakuza boss accused of gunning down a rival syndicate member in Kobe City.
Hiroshi Nakata, the 67-year-old boss of the Yamaken-gumi, confronted prices of tried homicide and firearms violations over an August 2019 taking pictures that occurred throughout a interval of fierce gang battle.
Nakata was accused of opening hearth on a 51-year-old member of the Kodo-kai — the core faction of the rival Yamaguchi-gumi syndicate — leaving him severely wounded as he sat within the driver’s seat of a lightweight automobile exterior a gang facility.
Throughout his preliminary trial, Nakata flatly denied the allegations, telling the court docket, “I am not the culprit.”
With no direct proof linking Nakata to the crime, prosecutors constructed their case round a “relay analysis” of safety digital camera footage, trying to trace the shooter’s escape route step-by-step.
However, the Kobe District Court beforehand dismantled the prosecution’s case in an October ruling. Presiding choose Akira Maruta famous that figuring out the shooter primarily based merely on the suspect carrying the identical model and elegance of jacket because the defendant was far too circumstantial.
The court docket additionally examined footage displaying the shooter fleeing on a black moped earlier than switching to a white scooter — which Nakata had bought — and ultimately getting into Nakata’s residence. The choose dominated that this sequence didn’t rule out the chance that another person was using the automobiles.
Furthermore, the court docket forged doubt on the logic of the crime itself, stating it was “somewhat incomprehensible” {that a} top-tier syndicate boss would personally perform successful and expose himself to such a excessive danger of arrest.
The decrease court docket concluded that “while there is a high possibility the defendant is the culprit, the possibility of it being a different person cannot be denied,” resulting in a not-guilty verdict.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, prosecutors appealed, however the Osaka High Court’s latest determination has ensured Nakata’s acquittal stays intact.