Japanese Attempted Murder Victim Demands Statute of Limitations Removal

Nagoya, Sept. 7 (Jiji Press)--A victim of attempted murder in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, in 2002 and his wife are advocating for the removal of the statute of limitations on such crimes.

The country abolished the statute of limitations for heinous crimes such as murder through law amendments in 2010. Still, the revisions do not cover attempted murder.

"Would it have been better if I had died?" said Yoshitaka Yasuda, 61, who was left severely disabled in the 2002 case.

The incident occurred on Nov. 18, 2002, at the parking lot of a pachinko parlor in the city. Two men shot two security guards who came to collect money, took four bags containing about 8.7 million yen in sales money and fled.

Yasuda was shot in the neck and leg and stabbed in the side. Although he survived, he has been using a wheelchair due to quadriplegia caused by a cervical spinal cord injury. His wife, Izumi, 57, assists him with daily activities such as bathing and toileting.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]