Supreme Court upholds death sentence for ex-insurance agent
2009/12/05
TOKYO
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the death sentence for a former insurance agent convicted of killing a couple in Kitami, Hokkaido, in 1988. Yuji Kubota, 64, fatally stabbed Katsuji Yada, 61, and his wife Kazue, 56, at their home in October 1988 in an effort to conceal his malpractice, according to the ruling.
He was arrested in December 2002, 10 months before the expiration of the statute of limitations on the case. ‘‘It was a selfish and vicious crime,’’ Presiding Justice Yuki Furuta said. ‘‘The defendant went into hiding after faking his suicide and he has shown a lack of remorse during the trials by presenting irrational excuses.’