JAPAN. MAN TO HANG AFTER BOTCHED ASSASSINATION BID LEAVES 3 DEAD

Masato Kohinata, a member of an organised crime group who shot to death three random customers at a bar while trying to assassinate a rival gang boss, was sentenced to death. Kohinata, 35, a senior member of the Yano Mutsumi-kai gang affiliated with the Sumiyoshi-kai organised crime group, appealed the ruling. 
Presiding Judge Yasuhiro Kuga told Kohinata, "I want you to live as long as possible and continue to apologize to the bereaved families of the victims." In the assassination attempt planned by Osamu Yano, head of the Yano Mutsumi-kai, Kohinata, and his cohort visited a bar in Maebashi on January 25, 2003, to kill a rival gang boss. Kohinata and Kenichiro Yamada randomly fired their guns in and around the bar, leaving three customers dead and another patron injured.