Tokyo: Man acquitted over British woman's death

A court today acquitted a Japanese property developer over the death of a British bar hostess, but convicted him of a series of rapes and sentenced him to life in prison, a news report said.

Joji Obara (aged 54), was arrested in 2001 on charges of rape resulting in the death of Lucie Blackman.

He was also on trial over nine other rapes.

Tokyo District Court cleared Obara of charges involving Blackman’s death, but sentenced him to life for a series of rapes, Kyodo said.

It was not immediately clear if rape victims under the conviction included Blackman.

Blackman, then 21, was working at a Tokyo nightclub in 2000 when she went missing after telling a friend she was going on a drive with a customer.

Her dismembered body was discovered in a seaside cave in early 2001.

Tycoon Obara was arrested later that year on charges of rape resulting in death in Blackman’s killing.

Obara, was also suspected in a string of other rapes, including three that involved foreign women he met at Tokyo hostess clubs.

Obara denied all the charges, suggesting in testimony that Blackman took the drugs herself.

The Briton’s disappearance in July 2000 triggered one of Japan’s highest-profile hunts in years. After seven months, her decomposed body was found in a cave near a beachside apartment belonging to Obara.

Obara allegedly invited Blackman to his condominium, drugged her and sexually assaulted her after she fell unconscious.

Blackman’s case has cast light on foreign women who come to Japan hoping to make money as bar hostesses. Blackman, a former flight attendant, came to Japan in May 2000 and used her earnings to travel around Asia.

Experts warn that such workers are vulnerable to crimes or exploitation because the justice system does not provide a way for them to work legally on a short-term basis – forcing women to work under-the-table on tourist visas without legal protection.

The verdict comes as Japanese police are investigating another high-profile murder of a Briton last month.

British language teacher Lindsay Hawker’s naked body was found in a sand-filled bathtub at an apartment outside Tokyo. She had been beaten and then suffocated to death, and police are still hunting for the prime suspect, a 28-year-old Japanese male.