Fortune teller arrested over 7.7 mil. yen fraud
January 27, 2006A 61-year-old fugitive woman who practiced fortune telling was arrested on Friday on suspicion of defrauding a woman in Kobe of about 7.7 million yen by saying the woman needed to have bad spirits removed from her, police said. Toshiko Katayama from Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, is also suspected of swindling more than 100 million yen from a woman in Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture. The police are also looking into this case.
16-yr-old boy in Iwate arrested for death of mother
January 27, 2006Police arrested a 16-year-old boy Friday on suspicion of killing his mother at home in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, on Thursday. The suspect, whose name is withheld as he is a minor, allegedly killed the 39-year-old mother by bludgeoning her on the head with an unspecified hard object at the apartment where they live with the 33-year-old father.