<figure id="attachment_290135" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-290135" style="width: 1220px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ab26a8ff"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/01/jpp044024931.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-290135" class="wp-caption-text">Inoki, the defendant arrested for killing and injuring four people while driving drunk (Image: Jiji Press)</figcaption></figure>
<p><strong> Not a day goes by that I don&#8217;t think about how much pain and suffering he must have been in.</strong></p>
<p> The courtroom was filled with the heartrending plea of the bereaved family.</p>
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<p> Prosecutors sought 12 years in prison for the trial of a man who allegedly drove drunk and hit four men, killing two. The trial was held on August 24 at the Sakai Branch of the Osaka District Court. The defendant, Yasuyuki Inoki, 49, a construction worker in Naka Ward, Sakai City, is accused of causing death by dangerous driving.</p>
<p><strong> The police arrested Inoki on suspicion of negligent driving manslaughter and violation of the Road Traffic Law. The police arrested Inoki on suspicion of negligent driving manslaughter and violation of the Road Traffic Law, but since he had been drinking heavily at a number of Japanese-style pubs just before the incident, the prosecutors charged him with manslaughter by dangerous driving, a more serious offense.</strong></p>
<p><strong> On the other hand, Inoki denied some of the charges, saying, &#8220;I don&#8217;t think I was that drunk at the time,&#8221; and &#8220;I don&#8217;t know if drinking alone caused the incident. The defendant is claiming that the charge of manslaughter by negligent driving is appropriate, not manslaughter by dangerous driving.</strong></p>
<p> FRIDAY Digital&#8221; reported in detail on the accident Inoki caused in an article distributed on January 18 this year. We would like to reproduce the article and look back at Inoki&#8217;s claims and what happened before and after the accident (some corrections have been made).</p>
<h2> I was not aware that I hit anyone.</h2>
<p><strong> I am sure I ran away after the accident, but I thought I hit an electric pole or something. I was not aware that I had hit anyone. I don&#8217;t think it was a hit-and-run.</strong></p>
<p> On January 16, media reports revealed that the man had been drinking at two Japanese-style pubs just before the accident. There is a strong possibility that he was in a drunken state.</p>
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<p> The accident occurred on a city street in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, just after 11:30 a.m. on December 27, 2010. The defendant, Inoki, was arrested. He allegedly hit four men, all in their 40s, who were on night patrol, with his car, killing two and slightly injuring two others. The defendant, Inoki, drove away without taking appropriate action.</p>
<p><strong> Eight men from the local neighborhood association were on patrol. The city street at the scene was one lane on each side and about 6 m wide, and the eight men formed a double line and appealed to residents in the neighborhood to be careful of fire. Inoki&#8217;s car approached the patrol at a high rate of speed from behind and hit the four men one after another. Inoki was apparently asleep at the wheel.</strong></p>
<p><strong> The two men who died were walking at the rear of the car. The autopsy revealed that both men had broken bones in their heads. They must have been hit hard from the head to the ground by the impact of being hit. There were no brake marks at the scene, so it is believed that the driver did not slow down and hit the four people.</strong></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The morning after the accident, he went to work in his work clothes."></div>
<figure id="attachment_290122" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-290122" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f5110cfa"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/01/2022122805063.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-290122" class="wp-caption-text">The municipal road in Sakai City where the accident took place (Image: Kyodo News)</figcaption></figure>
<p> The day after the accident, police found a sports-type utility vehicle (SUV), which closely resembled the getaway car caught on multiple security cameras, in the parking lot of a house about 700 meters from the scene. The owner was defendant Inoki.</p>
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<p><strong> Inoki denied some of the charges, saying, &#8220;I thought I hit a utility pole. However, there is no utility pole near the accident site. At the time of his arrest, he had not even apologized to the victim.</strong></p>
<p><strong> The morning after the accident, Inoki was seen heading to work in his work clothes.</strong><strong> Inoki admitted that he had been drinking just before the accident, but since he was arrested late at night on December 28, almost a full day after the accident, no alcohol was detected in his breathalyzer test.</strong></p>
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<p> According to the police, it is known that around 8:00 p.m. on the day of the accident, Inoki entered his favorite izakaya (Japanese-style pub) alone. He drank more than five draft beers and highballs in total and left the restaurant after 10 pm. Inoki staggered to another izakaya, drank more alcohol, and apparently caused the accident.</p>
<p><strong> The testimony of the owner of the first izakaya also reveals a serious lie on the part of defendant Inoki. When the owner asked the defendant if he had come by car, he denied it. The next morning, he received a phone call from the defendant saying, &#8216;I hit a telephone pole on my way home. When the owner asked if it was a person, he explained that it was a telephone pole.</strong></p>
<p> The testimony of the defendant and the circumstances of the accident revealed one lie after another. The verdict is scheduled to be handed down on September 29.</p>
<figure id="attachment_290124" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-290124" style="width: 5502px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d7aa6d87"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/01/aflo_66797749.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-290124" class="wp-caption-text"> It is known that the suspect went to two taverns just before the accident.</figcaption></figure>


 Asahi Shimbun / Jiji Press, Kyodo News, Afro

 Four people were killed or injured in a hit-and-run accident in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, late last year. The arrested man had gone to two izakayas (Japanese-style pubs) just before the accident. The man partially denied committing the crime, saying he thought he hit an electric pole. What was the serious lie to the owner of the tavern and the crime for which he was sentenced?

Drunk driver who ran over an electric pole and killed and injured four people at two izakayas.

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