Japanese Man's Life Sentence For Drug Smuggling Finalized In China

Japanese man's life sentence for drug smuggling finalized in China

A Chinese high court has finalized a life sentence handed down to a Japanese man for drug smuggling.

The Higher People's Court in the southern province of Guangdong on Friday upheld a lower court sentencing of Sakuragi Takuma in 2019. Sakuragi is a former assemblyman of Inazawa City in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan.

Japan To Raise Penalties For Meat Smuggling

Japan to raise penalties for meat smuggling

The Japanese government will raise fines for smuggling pork and other meat products into the country on Wednesday as part of its efforts to prevent an outbreak of African swine fever, or ASF.

Fines for individuals will be tripled to as much as 3 million yen, or about 28,000 dollars. Penalties for corporations will be raised to 50 million yen, or about 470,000 dollars -- 50 times higher than the current level.