Motorway construction site forced man to confess to murder of missing teacher

TOKYO (TR) – Twenty years ago this month, a man confessed to the murder of Chikako Ishikawa, who had been missing since 1978.

After the elementary school teacher disappeared, there was naturally speculation that she had been kidnapped by agents from North Korea.

However, this was not the case. On August 22, 2004, police found the body of the elementary school teacher under Shinya Wada's former house.

This came after Wada, then 68, admitted to murdering Ishikawa in 1978 and burying him in his house, his former residence. He had been persuaded to reveal himself because of an upcoming public construction project that could have exposed his crime.

Of course, the statute of limitations for murder (15 years) had already expired by then, meaning he couldn't be charged with that crime. However, he didn't exactly get off scot-free.

As a weekly tabloid Shukan Bunshun Ishikawa's family reportedly did not remain calm and did not give in. They filed a civil lawsuit against Wada, demanding compensation of about 180 million yen.

Released after his confession

Of course, the family was not concerned about money, but rather about a decision that would entail social sanctions for Wada, who was free after his confession.

In Japan, the right to compensation for torts, including murder, expires after 20 years. However, the focus of the case was the question of when the 20-year period should begin.

If the time limit starts from the time Wada killed Ishikawa and left the body behind, it is 26 years in total. The right to make a claim was therefore extinguished. But what if the abandonment of the body obscures the start of the clock, so that there is no certain beginning?

The Tokyo District Court, which first tried the case, ruled that the statute of limitations for “murder” had expired due to the expiration of the civil statute of limitations. However, the court recognized Wada's responsibility for abandoning a corpse and ordered him to pay 3.3 million yen.

However, the Tokyo High Court, which heard the case for the second time, dismissed the first charge, found murder and ordered the payment of a fine of 42.25 million yen.

This case was eventually taken by WADA to the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of the Third Petty Bench pointed out that “it is contrary to the principles of justice and fairness not to grant rights to the bereaved family when twenty years have passed since the perpetrator knowingly created a situation in which the death of the victim was unknown.”

The court dismissed Wada's appeal, saying: “It is extremely unfair to exempt the perpetrator, who continued to cover up the victim's death, from the obligation to pay compensation.”

“Isn’t Japan a constitutional state?”

Justice? Maybe.

Ishikawa was originally from the city of Otaru in Hokkaido Prefecture and came to Tokyo to teach music. Wada was a security guard at the school. He strangled her and buried her naked body in a room beneath his living room.

Ishikawa's family members had searched for her for more than two decades. Her brother Ken, who expressed his displeasure with the Japanese justice system, kept framed photographs of Ishikawa in their home.

“They say that after 15 years, the victims’ feelings calm down and evidence disappears,” he told the New York Times Regarding the statute of limitations for murder: “But the victim's family will never forget. It's madness. He is a murderer, but we can't do anything. Isn't Japan a country governed by the rule of law?”

In fact, it was not guilt that prompted Wada to turn himself in.

After the crime, he continued to work at the school and lived in the same house for years until he was forced to move in 2004 due to plans to expand the city's streets.

Fearing that construction workers might find the body, Wada confessed. Knowing the statute of limitations and exclusion periods in civil law, he was confident that he would not be punished. The outcome of this trial must have come as a bolt from the blue.