Trial opens in 2017 Kitakyushu arson-murder case; ex-resident pleads not guilty
In short
The lay-judge trial of Inoue Koji, 58, a former resident charged with setting fire to a Kitakyushu apartment in 2017 and killing six people, opened on October 5, 2026 at the Fukuoka District Court's Kokura Branch. Inoue told the court, “I have nothing to do with this,” and his defence argued for acquittal, disputing both that the fire was arson and that he was the perpetrator. Prosecutors, who the documents say have no direct evidence, are basing their case on security camera images and alleged statements by the defendant about the building's management company.
Read the full story 3 min read
The lay-judge trial of Inoue Koji, 58, a former resident charged with arson of an inhabited building and murder, opened on October 5, 2026 at the Fukuoka District Court's Kokura Branch, presided over by Judge Miyoshi Junpei. Inoue told the court, “I have nothing to do with this,” and his defence team argued he was not guilty, putting the case in full contest with prosecutors. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
According to the indictment, Inoue entered the two-storey wooden apartment in Shimizu 2-chome, Kokurakita Ward, Kitakyushu, through an unlocked first-floor entrance at around 23:10 to 23:15 on May 7, 2017, and started a fire in front of a first-floor toilet using something like a gas torch. About 283 square metres burned, six residents aged 55 to 84 were killed and five of the eight people who escaped were injured, the documents say. Prosecutors brought murder charges on the basis that he recognised residents might die, Jiji Press reported. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
Asahi Shimbun reported there is no direct evidence — no footage of the ignition, no eyewitness testimony, no DNA or fingerprints left at the scene. Prosecutors said they would prove arson through combustion experiments and expert analysis, arguing the fire cannot be explained otherwise; Mainichi Shimbun reported police found no sign of a short circuit at the fire's origin and examined whether a cigarette could have caused it. Police identified Inoue from security camera images around the apartment and arrested him in September 2024, about seven years after the fire, Asahi reported, while Mainichi reported that investigators traced more than 70 cameras and that image analysis matched the defendant's motorbike and clothing. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ]
On motive, prosecutors said that when Inoue lived in the building around June and July 2016 he told other residents he would “set fire” to it amid complaints about the management company, and told an acquaintance thinking of moving in that it was dirty and not fit for people to live in, according to Asahi and Yomiuri. The defence said the fire was not necessarily arson, that Inoue was not the perpetrator and that he had no motive; it noted that the entrance on the opposite, east side was also unlocked and asked the court to consider that the perpetrator could have entered from there, Asahi reported. [ 2 , 5 , 6 ]
Inoue denied the charges during the investigation and again in court, Mainichi reported. Asahi reported he had been convicted of setting fire to a motorbike parked at a police box in Kitakyushu's Yahatahigashi Ward on May 15, 2017, and had served a prison sentence. Yomiuri reported the defence argued the camera images cannot all be said to show the defendant and that he did not go near the apartment on the day of the fire, while Nippon TV reported the defence cited possible causes other than arson and no established motive. [ 1 , 2 , 6 , 8 ]
Jiji Press reported 18 hearings are scheduled through December 3, with a verdict on January 14, 2027, while Mainichi said about 20 hearings are planned for the same verdict date. A prosecution official told Mainichi, “It is not a simple trial, but we will build our case in detail.” [ 1 , 5 ]
Why it matters
The hearing reopens a case that went unresolved for about seven years before an arrest, and the court must decide it largely on circumstantial evidence: the documents say there is no footage of the ignition, no eyewitness testimony and no DNA or fingerprints. How the court weighs camera-image identification and the police inquiry into an alternative entrance will shape the outcome for a fire that killed six people.
Key facts
- The first hearing in the lay-judge trial of former resident Inoue Koji, 58, opened on October 5, 2026 at the Fukuoka District Court's Kokura Branch, with Judge Miyoshi Junpei presiding. [ 2 , 5 , 6 ]
- Inoue pleaded not guilty, telling the court, “I have nothing to do with this,” and his defence argued for acquittal. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- The fire on May 7, 2017 at an apartment in Kokurakita Ward, Kitakyushu killed six residents and injured five others; about 283 square metres burned. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
- The residents who died were men aged 55 to 84, according to Jiji Press and Yomiuri Shimbun. [ 5 , 6 ]
- The disputed issues are whether the fire was arson and whether Inoue was the perpetrator; the documents say there is no direct evidence such as footage of the ignition or eyewitness testimony. [ 1 , 2 , 8 ]
- Inoue was arrested in September 2024, about seven years after the fire. [ 2 , 6 ]
- A verdict is scheduled for January 14, 2027. [ 1 , 5 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Inoue Koji, 58, a former resident, is charged with arson of an inhabited building and murder over the May 2017 apartment fire in Kitakyushu that killed six residents; at the first hearing on October 5, 2026 he said “I have nothing to do with this” and his defence team argued for acquittal. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- The fire destroyed about 283 square metres of the two-storey wooden apartment and killed six residents; five other people were injured. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
- The residents who died were men aged between 55 and 84. [ 5 , 6 ]
- The trial is being held at the Fukuoka District Court's Kokura Branch with Judge Miyoshi Junpei presiding, and a verdict is scheduled for January 14, 2027. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ]
- Prosecutors are relying on circumstantial evidence, including security camera images, because there is no direct evidence such as footage of the arson or eyewitness testimony. [ 1 , 2 , 6 , 8 ]
- Inoue was arrested in September 2024, about seven years after the fire. [ 2 , 6 ]
- The defence says the fire was not necessarily arson, that the person in the camera images cannot be confirmed as the defendant, and that he had no motive. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the fire was caused by arson. The documents present this as a central disputed issue at trial rather than a settled fact: prosecutors say the fire cannot be explained unless it was set, while the defence says the fire was not necessarily arson.
- Which entrance the person who started the fire used. Mainichi Shimbun says the intruder entered through an unlocked front entrance; Asahi Shimbun says he entered through an unlocked west-side entrance; Jiji Press, Yomiuri Shimbun and Nippon TV refer only to an unlocked first-floor entrance.
- How many hearings are scheduled. Mainichi Shimbun says about 20 hearings; Jiji Press says 18 hearings through December 3.
- The name of the apartment building. Most documents call it 中村荘 (Nakamura-so); Asahi Shimbun calls it 中村荘六 (Nakamura-so Roku).
- Whether the defendant is the person shown in the security camera footage. Police obtained expert opinion that the person closely resembles the defendant, while the defence says the images cannot all be definitively identified as him.
- The motive. Prosecutors cite alleged statements about the management company and about the building; the defence says no motive is recognised, and this remains a contested point for the court.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- May 7, 2017: a fire breaks out at the apartment in Shimizu 2-chome, Kokurakita Ward, Kitakyushu; prosecutors allege Inoue set it with something like a gas torch between about 23:10 and 23:15, and six residents died. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ]
- September 2024: Inoue is arrested, about seven years after the fire. [ 2 , 6 ]
- October 5, 2026: the first hearing opens at the Fukuoka District Court's Kokura Branch; Asahi Shimbun reports Inoue told the court, “I have nothing to do with this.” [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]