Regarding the Dec. 19 article "Trio avoid prison in sumo killing": Some people claim that the perfect murder is impossible. Judge Masaharu Ashizawa of the Nagoya District Court has proven that this is not necessarily the case. Three sumo wrestlers, Yuichiro Izuka, 26, Masakazu Kimura, 25, and Masanori Fujii, 23, pleaded guilty to beating Takashi Saito to death, but walked away with suspended 2 1/2 year prison terms.
The reason for the incredibly lenient sentences seems to be that the beating of Saito was "ordered" by the stable master and that corporal punishment is normal in sumo. The lesson from Ashizawa's ruling is that if you want to kill somebody, then drag him into a sumo-training facility and beat him to death. Just make sure to get an order from somebody.
Tens of thousands of soldiers in the Imperial Japanese Army escaped prosecution for atrocities committed during World War II because they just obeyed orders. Maybe that was OK then; after all, they risked being decapitated themselves if they refused to follow orders. But what can a stable master do to a sumo wrestler who refuses to beat up his friend?
It is truly regrettable that Japanese society apparently hasn't learned a lesson from the war. With such rulings in mind, the lay-judge system to be introduced next year is welcome. It can't be worse than the present system.
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