The Nagoya High Court upheld a lower court ruling sentencing...

The Nagoya High Court upheld a lower court ruling sentencing three men to death, two of whom for murdering three people to get insurance payments or money between 1994 and 1996 and the remaining one for involvement in two of the murders. The court handed down the sentences to Eiichi Shimoura, 32, and 49-year-old twin brothers who were formerly import traders - Akihiro and Kazuhiro Matsumoto. Presiding Judge Junichi Koide said, "Capital punishment is inevitable, after considering the feelings of bereaved families and the tremendous social impact of the crimes." According to the ruling, the three murdered Shigeru Higashienokida, 43, from Miyazaki Prefecture at a Manila hotel in December 1994 for insurance money. In June 1995, the three men killed their acquaintance Toshikazu Kagoi, a 47-year-old trade merchant from Nagoya, in Manila to receive travel insurance money with Kazuhiro Matsumoto as the beneficiary. In Komagane, Nagano Prefecture, Akihiro Matsumoto and Shimoura also murdered Shigeo Nozawa, a 24-year-old travel agency employee from Bisai, Aichi Prefecture, in May 1996 after stealing his cash card and withdrawing money.