Mitsuhiro Kobayashi

Case record: Mitsuhiro Kobayashi

Background

Mitsuhiro Kobayashi was a former taxi driver. During the trial, he admitted setting the fire to the Hirosaki branch of Takefuji Corp. during a bungled robbery attempt, but denied he intended to kill anyone.

The prosecution said Kobayashi was burdened with huge debts and desperately needed money to pay off his loans, which included 23 million yen in mortgage loans and other debts owed to consumer finance firms. Just six days before the incident, a consumer finance company demanded he pay 600,000 yen immediately, according to the police. The prosecution said Kobayashi eventually decided to rob Takefuji to prevent the company from repossessing his car, which had been put up as collateral for a loan. After torching the office, the prosecution said Kobayashi tried to cover his tracks by asking his wife to make it look like she had been using the car that day. The prosecution also said he made an anonymous phone call to a local TV station, saying that he only wanted money.

The offence

The fire occurred at a branch of Takefuji Corp., a consumer loan firm, in Aomori Prefecture. The high court said Kobayashi decided to rob the firm to repay debts incurred from betting on bicycle races. The high court said he set the branch office on fire to vent irritation over the failed robbery attempt, and that he continued to gamble on the races even after burning the employees to death.

Kobayashi entered the office at around 10:50 a.m. on May 8, 2001, spread gasoline on the floor, and demanded money. After the branch manager refused to comply, he ignited the gasoline and fled.

Four other employees suffered serious burns. The fire resulted in the deaths of five employees at the loan company’s branch in the city of Hirosaki. The branch, on the third floor of an office building, was gutted and later demolished.

At trial, Kobayashi denied murderous intent. He said: "I did not break into the Takefuji branch to kill people. I did not mean to kill (the victims) when I set the office on fire."

The indictment said Kobayashi sprinkled gasoline inside the building, demanded the branch manager give him money, and after the manager refused, set the office on fire and fled. His lawyers argued that he should not have been charged with robbery and murder, but robbery resulting in death. The prosecution disagreed, saying Kobayashi must have been fully aware that burning the office would put the employees in mortal danger.

Investigation

Aomori police launched a massive manhunt but were unable to find their suspect for months. With the help of a portrait and eyewitness accounts of a green car fleeing the scene, they eventually arrested Kobayashi, a resident of Nomioka, 15 km northeast of Hirosaki, on March 4.

Trial

At the Aomori District Court, Kobayashi admitted setting the fire to the Hirosaki branch of Takefuji Corp. during a bungled robbery attempt on May 8, 2001, but denied he intended to kill anyone.

The Aomori District Court sentenced Kobayashi to death last February, saying he bore an "enormously heavy" burden of guilt for the crime.

Presiding Judge Shigeru Matsuura dismissed Kobayashi’s appeal. Judge Matsuura said: "He was able to recognize that it was highly probable the employees would be burned to death inside the office if he set it on fire."

The high court said the crime showed Kobayashi’s cold-blooded personality and that "Rehabilitating him would be extremely difficult."

Kobayashi offered an apology to relatives of the five employees who died in the blaze.

Appeals

Kobayashi immediately appealed to the Supreme Court after the Sendai High Court upheld the death sentence.

The Supreme Court upheld the high court decision. The death sentence was described as standing after the Supreme Court ruling was finalized.

Outcome

The Supreme Court upheld a high court decision to execute Kobayashi by hanging. Once finalized, Kobayashi was described as the 102nd death-row inmate in Japan. The death sentence was upheld for the Takefuji arson-murder case.

Aftermath

The death penalty remained in place for the cabby who burned five people to death during an attempted robbery at a branch of Takefuji Corp. in Aomori Prefecture.