Tag: Japan

I will be surprised if the Japanese court believes this defense. If this holds up every rapist will be claiming they were sleepwalking to justify their crimes:

A U.S. Marine accused of sexually assaulting a Japanese woman and injuring another will rely on a defense of insanity due to a sleep disorder when his case comes to trial in June, his attorney said Wednesday. Pfc. Austin Wedington, 28, of California, should not be held responsible for an incident prosecutors allege occurred on March 18, 2025, according to a Feb. 12 filing by attorney Tetsu Amakata in Naha District Court.

Amakata’s pleading was partially read in court by Presiding Judge Tomohiko Shinomiya on Wednesday. The defendant was showing symptoms of parasomnia and was in a state of insanity during every act he is accused of in the indictment, according to Amakata’s filing. Parasomnia is an umbrella term for disruptive sleep disorders that include sleepwalking, sleep terrors, sleep talking and sleep paralysis, according to the National Library of Medicine.

Article 39 of Japan’s penal code states that “actions due to insanity are not subject to punishment.” Wedington pleaded not guilty Nov. 18 to forcible sexual intercourse and guilty to injuring the second woman before a three-judge panel presided over by Judge Kazuhiko Obata.

Stars & Stripes

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Everything seems to have gone well during the Lee-Takaichi summit. Hopefully the positive direction of Korea-Japan relations continues:

President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi agreed to strengthen cooperation on supply chains, including crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), during a bilateral summit in Lee’s hometown of Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday.

The agreement was reached as the two neighbors are deepening bilateral ties through continued summit diplomacy, amid heightened global energy security risks stemming from the U.S. war on Iran.

“We agreed that close bilateral cooperation is needed more than ever amid the instability in supply chains and energy markets arising from the recent situation in the Middle East,” Lee said in a joint press statement after the summit.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Hopefully this summit continues to the positive direction of ROK and Japanese relations:

Takaichi will be received at Daegu International Airport, near Andong, by South Korea’s Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jina before heading to a hotel, where she will meet Lee for talks.

Honor guards in traditional costumes and gear will escort Takaichi as she is ushered into the hotel, where a 12-member color guard will welcome her at the entrance, according to presidential officials.

Lee and Takaichi will first hold a small-group meeting, followed by an expanded meeting, before making a joint press announcement on the results of their talks. 

Agenda items will likely include bilateral cooperation in response to the ongoing Middle East conflict, security in Northeast Asia and efforts to address disruptions in global supply chains.

Yonhap

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It looks like Prime Minister Takaichi and President Lee have formed so far a strong relationship:

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is considering visiting Korea later this month for a summit with President Lee Jae Myung in his hometown of Andong, Japanese media outlets said Saturday, citing diplomatic sources.

Japan’s Kyodo News and other media outlets reported that Takaichi is expected to visit South Korea on May 19 for a two-day trip and hold talks with Lee in Andong, about 190 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on economic security cooperation, including energy and critical mineral supply chains amid the Middle East conflict.

Takaichi last visited South Korea in October, just nine days after she took office, and held talks with Lee on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in the southeastern city of Gyeongju.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.