Japanese Politics & Culture

Meting out justice in Japanese courts took on a new form last month when the country switched to a jury system for major criminal cases.
In the past, defendants – American or Japanese – charged with felonies faced judge tribunals and a 99 percent conviction rate.
Under the new system, designed to provide more transparency, they will be tried in front of a panel of three judges and six citizens. (Stars & Stripes)

A 20-year-old university student was arrested Sunday on suspicion of attempted murder after he leapt from a train platform, taking with him a woman who had been standing nearby, police said. (AP)

Midfielder Kengo Nakamura scored a goal and set up another Sunday as Japan coasted to a 4-0 win over an under-strength Belgium team to win the Kirin Cup.
Defender Yuto Nagatomo opened the scoring for Japan in the 21st minute when he took a pass from Nakamura and beat Belgian goalkeeper Stijn Stijnen. (Canadian Press)

Japan’s Takeru Kobayashi outlasted Joey Chestnut when the eating titans faced off to see who could devour the most pizzas.
Kobayashi, a six-time world hot dog eating champion from Japan, consumed 5 3/4 P’zones – a kind mixture between a pizza and a calzone – in a six-minute span of chaotic consumption Saturday to edge Chestnut. (Fox News)

The number of new-flu infections confirmed in Japan rose to 378 in 12 prefectures as of late Saturday night, with the first case in Niigata Prefecture reported.
A total of eight people, including a 21-year-old woman in the city of Niigata who became the first confirmed case in Niigata Prefecture, were newly found to be infected with the new H1N1 strain of influenza A on Saturday. (AP)

Three people were fatally stabbed at an apartment building in Saiwai Ward, Kawasaki on Saturday morning and a man has been held over the stabbings, police said.
At about 6:45 a.m., Akihito Shibata, 73, the owner of the Koeiso apartment building, his brother Yoshiaki Shibata, 71, and Yoshiaki’s wife Toshiko, 68, are believed to have been stabbed with a kitchen knife. (Yomiuri)

A draft U.N. Security Council resolution against North Korea compiled by Japan and the United States in response to its nuclear test includes a provision that allows the use of force in conducting cargo inspections of North Korean vessels, The Yomiuri Shimbun learned Thursday. (Yomiuri)

The Kobe District Court on Friday sentenced a man to death for killing seven relatives and seriously injuring another in Kakogawa, Hyogo Prefecture, in 2004.
Handing down the sentence on Yasutaka Fujishiro, 52, Presiding Judge Makoto Okada said it was “one of the cruelest crimes in history, and capital punishment is the only choice for the court.” (AP)

An ancient burial mound in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, was built, according to a scientific dating method, in the mid-third century around the time legendary Japanese female ruler Himiko died, making it more likely it is her tomb, a group of archaeologists said Friday. (AP)

The Nagoya District Court sentenced a former sumo stablemaster Friday to six years in prison for telling wrestlers at his stable to haze and beat a 17-year-old wrestler who died from the injuries two years ago. (AP)