The Tokyo High Court rejected appeals from two bus company executives, upholding prison sentences for negligent homicide and injury following a fatal crash.
This ruling finalizes the legal accountability for the leadership of the transport company after a decade of litigation. The decision underscores the judicial system's stance on corporate negligence in public transit safety.
The court upheld the sentence of three years imprisonment [1] for bus company president Takahashi Misaku, 64 [2]. It also maintained the four-year prison term [1] for former operations manager Arai Tsuyoshi, 57 [2]. Both men were charged with negligence related to the 2016 accident that occurred on National Route 18 in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture [2].
The crash resulted in 15 deaths [1] and left 26 people injured, including both serious and minor casualties [1]. The Tokyo High Court determined that the original judgments regarding negligence were correct, leading to the dismissal of the appeals [2].
Family members of the victims expressed that the legal conclusion provides a sense of clarity. Yoshinori Tahara, the father of one of the victims, said the cause of the accident has become clear and that it is now the role of the families to ensure the lessons from the tragedy are passed down forever [2].
The defendants' failure to have their sentences reduced indicates that the court found no new evidence or mitigating circumstances sufficient to overturn the initial findings of negligence [2]. The ruling concludes the appellate phase for the two high-ranking officials involved in the operation of the vehicle during the 2016 disaster.
“The Tokyo High Court rejected the appeals of the two defendants and upheld the original prison sentences.”
The dismissal of these appeals marks the end of the legal challenge for the company's top leadership. By upholding the prison terms for both the president and the operations manager, the court has reinforced the principle of corporate responsibility, signaling that executives can be held criminally liable for systemic safety failures that lead to mass casualties.
