Mitsuo Sudo, father of the victim Masakazu Sudo

The Utsunomiya District Court ordered the prefecture and the perpetrators to pay a total of ¥113 million in compensation to the family of Masakazu Sudo, 19.

According to the ruling, Sudo's parents repeatedly asked the Tochigi police to investigate after their son was abducted Sept. 29, 1999. But the police refused to act unless foul play was suspected.

Three youths who had worked with Sudo, abducted, tortured and extorted a large amount of money from him in September 1999, and then killed him Dec. 2 in the town of Ichikai.

The three, 19 years old at the time of the crime, were tried as minors. Two were given life sentences and the third was sentenced to five to 10 years.

The prefectural government has denied mishandling the investigation, saying there was no request from the parents to save Sudo and they could not foresee the murder.

The Japan Times Weekly: April 22, 2006
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