Man gets life sentence for murdering compatriot in Manila in 2010

The Kyoto District Court sentenced a 58-year-old Japanese man to life in prison on Monday for murdering a fellow national in Manila in 2010 with the intention of claiming insurance money. In handing down the ruling, the court said Shigeo Arai killed Yuichiro Matsutani, then 35, who was working for an education material sales company operated by the defendant’s younger brother Shogo. Illustrative image The ruling said Arai had conspired with Shogo and shot Matsutani in the head with a handgun on a street in the Philippine capital on Nov. 24, 2010, with an aim to collect 100 million yen ($929,000) in death benefits. “He played an important and indispensable role as a perpetrator and took the lead” in the murder, said Presiding Judge Ayako Nakagawa, adding “it was a well planned and extremely vicious (act).” Prosecutors had indicted Arai on a charge of murder but he had dismissed the...