Man Gets Prison For Burning Buildings Related To Ethnic Koreans In Japan
A court in western Japan has sentenced a man to four years in prison for setting fire to buildings associated with ethnic Koreans.
The Kyoto District Court on Tuesday handed down the sentence demanded by prosecutors to Arimoto Shogo.
Arimoto was convicted of carrying out an arson attack on a warehouse in the Utoro district of Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture, in August last year. Many ethnic Koreans live in the district. The fire gutted or damaged seven buildings, including houses.
He was also convicted of setting fires in July last year at a building belonging to an organization of Koreans living in Japan and a Korean school, both in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture.
The warehouse fire destroyed 50 items that were to be displayed at a peace memorial museum with exhibits on the history of the Utoro district that opened this year.
During the trial, the defendant said he hated Koreans and wanted to stop the museum from opening by destroying exhibits.
Presiding judge Masuda Keisuke said in the ruling that the crime was based on selfish and self-righteous motives due to prejudice and hatred toward ethnic Koreans. He called the act totally unacceptable in a democratic society.
The judge said Arimoto bears heavy responsibility for causing serious consequences.