Retrial opens in 2018 Toyama police box attack; defendant stays silent
In short
The retrial of Keita Shimazu, 30, a former Self-Defense Forces member accused of killing a police officer and a security guard in a 2018 attack on a Toyama police box, opened on Oct. 5 at the Toyama District Court. Shimazu answered none of the judge's questions about his name, date of birth or the charges, as in his first trial. The defence argues the more serious robbery-murder charge does not apply and that he was mentally diminished; a verdict is expected on Dec. 8.
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A retrial in the 2018 attack on a police box in Toyama that left two people dead opened on Oct. 5 at the Toyama District Court, with Shinichiro Yuki as presiding judge. The defendant, Keita Shimazu, 30, a former Self-Defense Forces member charged with robbery-murder and other offences, did not answer when asked for his name and date of birth and said nothing when asked to respond to the charges, matching his silence at his first trial. It was his first public appearance in about five and a half years; he did not attend the appeal hearing. TBS reported he entered court in a wheelchair, wearing a suit and glasses, with short black hair and stubble. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
According to the indictment as described by the outlets, Shimazu is accused of stabbing Kenichi Inaizumi, then a 46-year-old police inspector at the Toyama Chuo police station's Okuda police box in Hisakata-cho, Toyama, with a knife on June 26, 2018. Sankei Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Inaizumi, who was promoted two ranks to inspector after his death, was killed at the police box, and that the attacker took his handgun and shot dead Shinichi Nakamura, 68, a security guard at a construction site near the main gate of the municipal Okuda elementary school, about 100 metres away. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 10 ]
In March 2021 the Toyama District Court found it could not rule out that Shimazu formed the intent to take the handgun only after killing the officer, denied that robbery-murder was established, convicted him of murder and theft and sentenced him to life imprisonment; prosecutors had sought the death penalty. Both sides appealed. In March 2022 the Nagoya High Court's Kanazawa branch overturned the ruling, saying it was “natural” to conclude that he intended to take the gun from the start and that the lower court had made a clear error of fact, and sent the case back for a retrial on the premise that robbery-murder applies. In March 2024 the Supreme Court rejected the defence's appeal. Yomiuri reported that 16 pre-trial sessions to sort out the issues were held from May last year to September this year. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 10 ]
At the retrial, the defence argued that robbery-murder does not apply because Shimazu did not go to the police box intending to seize a gun, and that he should be convicted only of murder and theft, according to NHK, Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri. The defence also told the court he was in a state of diminished capacity at the time, Asahi and Yahoo! News Japan reported. Prosecutors and defence lawyers gave opening statements, Nippon TV reported. The court is to weigh whether robbery-murder, punishable by death or life imprisonment, is established, and the sentence. Nippon TV and Yomiuri said a verdict is expected on Dec. 8. [ 3 , 4 , 8 , 10 , 11 ]
Why it matters
The retrial will decide whether the two killings are treated as robbery-murder, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment, or as murder and theft, after the Supreme Court upheld a remand that rejected the reasoning of the earlier life sentence. Because the charge turns on when the defendant formed the intent to take the officer's gun, the outcome rests on a narrow factual question the two sides argue differently. A verdict is scheduled for Dec. 8.
Key facts
- The retrial of the 2018 Toyama police box attack opened on Oct. 5 at the Toyama District Court, with Shinichiro Yuki as presiding judge. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 10 ]
- The defendant, Keita Shimazu, 30, a former Self-Defense Forces member, did not answer questions about his name or date of birth and said nothing when asked to respond to the charges. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
- He is charged with robbery-murder and other offences over the June 26, 2018 killing of police inspector Kenichi Inaizumi and security guard Shinichi Nakamura in Toyama. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 10 ]
- The 2021 Toyama District Court ruling denied that robbery-murder was established, applied murder and theft, and sentenced him to life imprisonment; prosecutors had sought the death penalty. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 10 ]
- In March 2022 the Nagoya High Court's Kanazawa branch overturned that ruling and sent the case back to the district court for retrial; the Supreme Court rejected the defence's appeal in March 2024. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 10 ]
- The defence argues that robbery-murder is not established and that only murder and theft should apply. [ 3 , 8 , 10 , 11 ]
- A verdict is expected on Dec. 8. [ 4 , 10 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The retrial opened on Oct. 5 at the Toyama District Court, presided over by judge Shinichiro Yuki. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 10 ]
- Defendant Keita Shimazu, 30, refused to answer questions about his name, date of birth and the charges at the opening hearing. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
- The case concerns the June 26, 2018 killing of police inspector Kenichi Inaizumi with a blade and the shooting of security guard Shinichi Nakamura with the officer's handgun near an elementary school in Toyama. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 10 ]
- The 2021 district court ruling denied robbery-murder and imposed life imprisonment; the 2022 high court decision overturned it and ordered a retrial. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 10 ]
- The defence contends that robbery-murder is not established and that murder and theft should apply instead. [ 3 , 8 , 10 , 11 ]
- The verdict is scheduled to be handed down on Dec. 8. [ 4 , 10 ]
Still unclear
- Whether Shimazu intended to seize the officer's handgun from the start, the central question for the robbery-murder charge. The 2021 district court said it could not rule out that the intent formed only after the officer was killed, while the 2022 high court said it was natural to see the intent as present from the start; the defence denies it.
- Whether Shimazu was in a state of diminished capacity at the time of the attack. This was stated by the defence in court and reported by Asahi Shimbun and Yahoo! News; no other position on it is reported in the documents.
- How the scope of the retrial is framed. Sankei Shimbun says the hearing proceeds on the premise that robbery-murder is established, while Yomiuri Shimbun describes whether the charge is established as one of the issues to be argued.
- Why the defendant appeared in a wheelchair. TBS reported he entered court in a wheelchair; the documents give no reason.
- What prosecutors said in their opening statement. The documents say opening statements by prosecutors and defence lawyers were given, but do not report their contents.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The first hearing of the retrial opens at the Toyama District Court; the defendant gives no answer to the presiding judge's questions or to the charges. [ 1 , 5 , 9 ]
- Sankei Shimbun reports on the retrial, saying it proceeds on the premise that robbery-murder is established and that the defendant was last seen in public about five and a half years ago. [ 2 ]
- Asahi Shimbun reports the defence position that robbery-murder is not established and that the defendant was in a state of diminished capacity. [ 3 ]
- NHK reports the defence argument that the defendant did not go to the police box intending to take a gun. [ 8 ]
- Yomiuri Shimbun reports the procedural history, including 16 pre-trial sessions held from May last year to September this year, and a verdict expected on Dec. 8. [ 10 ]