A grieving father in Japan is demanding a murder charge against a man who allegedly jumped from an 11th-floor apartment balcony and landed on his 23-year-old daughter, killing her instantly.
Kenji Inaba believes the death of his daughter, Tomoki, should not be treated as a tragic accident, claiming the man admitted he did not care whether anyone below was killed when he jumped.
The incident occurred at around 1am on July 19, when Tomoki, a restaurant worker, was walking home with a friend through a busy entertainment district in Nagoya.
Shinsei Taguchi, 29, had jumped from the balcony of an apartment building before landing on Tomoki. She suffered catastrophic injuries and died in hospital hours later after going into haemorrhagic shock.
Experts estimated the impact of the collision was equivalent to between one and three tonnes of force.
Taguchi survived the fall despite initially slipping into a coma. He was discharged from hospital in August and subsequently arrested on suspicion of gross negligence resulting in death.
Father claims suspect admitted he did not care who was below
Kenji said he had visited Taguchi three times while the suspect was in detention, hoping to understand what happened to his daughter.
Speaking to TV Asahi, Kenji recalled Taguchi apologising for what had happened.
“He told me, ‘I’m sorry for what happened to your precious daughter’, but honestly, anyone could say that,” he said.
Kenji said he then asked Taguchi whether he had jumped knowing there might be people below, without caring whether they lived or died.
“And he replied, ‘Yes, that’s right’,” Kenji claimed.
The father said he could not accept the possibility that his daughter’s death would be dismissed as an accident.
He is now urging prosecutors to upgrade the charge to murder, arguing that Taguchi knowingly endangered pedestrians by jumping from a high-rise building in one of Nagoya’s busiest nightlife areas.
More than 45,000 sign petition demanding tougher charges
Determined to demonstrate how many people could have been exposed to danger, Kenji returned to the scene and counted pedestrians passing through the area.
He said nearly 300 people walked through the location in less than two hours, despite the incident occurring at around 1am.
His campaign for tougher charges has attracted widespread support, with more than 45,000 people signing a petition calling for a stronger legal response.
The petition argues that even if Taguchi intended to take his own life, he should have understood that jumping from a high-rise building in a crowded entertainment district could kill an innocent person.
It adds that conduct putting the lives of unsuspecting members of the public at risk should not go unchallenged.
The family has also called on investigators to examine Taguchi’s claim that he has no memory of the incident.
According to TBS News, Taguchi is undergoing psychiatric assessments to determine whether he can be held criminally responsible for his actions.
Lawyers warn murder charge could be difficult
Despite the family’s demands, legal experts have warned that securing a murder conviction could be challenging because prosecutors would need to establish the necessary criminal intent.
Lawyer Yasuo Sawai said it would be difficult to prove that jumping from the 11th floor constituted murder, given the uncertainty over whether the person would strike someone below.
“When jumping from the 11th floor, it is entirely unpredictable whether you will actually hit a pedestrian below,” he said.
He added that proving the act legally amounted to murder would not be easy.
Father remembers daughter’s final message
The tragedy has been made even more painful for Kenji by a message he received from his daughter just one day before her death.
Tomoki had contacted him through the Line messaging app to arrange dinner together. It would have been their first meal together in nine months.
Instead, Kenji is now fighting for what he believes would be justice for his daughter.
“A third party is dead. I don’t want this treated as just an accident,” he said.
“If the current law cannot change that, then I want to see legal reforms that stand by the victims and their grieving families.”
