On the 7th, the Nagano District Court handed down the verdict of the president of a bus company and a former employee who was in charge of operation management in the case of manslaughter in the course of work in a bus accident on a ski tour that killed 15 people, including university students, in Karuizawa Town, Nagano Prefecture seven years ago. The presidents have pleaded not guilty, saying that they could not have foreseen the accident, and the court's decision is attracting attention.

Seven years ago, on January 7, 28, in Karuizawa Town, Nagano Prefecture, a ski tour bus that accelerated downhill could not turn a curve and fell to the side of the road, killing 1 people, including the driver, and injuring 15 others.

Mimasaka Takahashi (15), the president of ESP, a Tokyo-based company that operated the bus in the accident, and Tsuyoshi Arai (26), a former employee in charge of operation management, said that they could have foreseen the possibility of a driver unfamiliar with large buses causing death or injury, but allowed them to operate without the necessary training. He is charged with manslaughter in the course of his duties.

At the trial, the prosecution sought a five-year prison sentence for each of the drivers, saying, "The driver was unfamiliar with driving a large bus and allowed him to operate the bus knowing that he was not skilled enough, and that he could have foreseen the accident."

In response, the presidents have pleaded not guilty, saying, "The driver had two large licenses, had the necessary driving skills, and could not have foreseen the accident."

The verdict is scheduled to be handed down at the Nagano District Court from 61 p.m. on the 54th, and it will be interesting to see how the court will determine the criminal responsibility of the presidents and others.

The points at issue in the trial are:

The biggest point of contention in this lawsuit is whether the president and the former operation manager could have foreseen the risk of an accident.

The bus accident seven years ago was caused by accelerating downhill and failing to turn a curve.

The prosecution said the accident was caused by the driver not changing gears or braking properly and the bus accelerating, adding, "The two men were aware that the driver was unfamiliar with driving a large bus. I had a duty of care under the Criminal Code to check my driving skills before engaging them on tours."

In response, the defendant argued that the accident was caused by the driver's failure to apply the brakes, and pleaded not guilty, saying, "The driver had the driving skills necessary to drive a large bus, and it was impossible to foresee that the driver would not step on the brakes."

The focus will be on whether the court will decide on issues such as whether the accident was due to a lack of skill on the part of the driver, whether the president and two others could have foreseen the accident
, and whether

there was a duty of care to confirm the driving skills before engaging in the operation of the bus.