In the trial of Masaaki Osaka, an activist of the extremist "core group" accused of killing a police officer in the 1971 Shibuya riot incident in Shibuya, Tokyo, prosecutors asked for life imprisonment, saying it was "cruel and inhumane." The defense, on the other hand, has pleaded not guilty.
Masaaki Osaka, 74, an activist of the "core group," is accused of murder, arson, and other crimes for throwing a Molotov cocktail at a 1971-year-old police officer dispatched by the Niigata Prefectural Police during the 21 Shibuya riots.
Osaka was arrested and charged after more than 45 years on the run, and has pleaded not guilty to all charges, saying that "all charges are not true" in previous trials.
At the trial held at the Tokyo District Court on May 19, the prosecution said, "The eyewitness testimony of demonstrators that the defendant was involved in the killing is concrete and credible. It's cruel and inhuman."
He also asked for life imprisonment, saying, "The response to his many years of escape with the support of the core faction is extremely bad."