The Tokyo High Court upheld the death sentence for...

The Tokyo High Court upheld the death sentence for Kazuo Shinozawa, a man convicted of burning six women to death during the robbery of a jewellery store in Utsunomiya in June 2000.
The court rejected Kazuo Shinozawa's appeal of an earlier decision by the Utsunomiya District Court.
Shinozawa, 52, was sentenced to die for tying up six women working at the Utsunomiya branch of Jewelry Tsutsumi Co., pouring gasoline over them and setting the store on fire. He was also convicted of robbing the store of 140 million yen worth of jewellery.
In his appeal, Shinozawa said he was not trying to kill anyone, but just scare them. In upholding the sentence, the court ruled that the convicted killer's confession during police questioning was valid, saying, "No evidence was found that the accused was illegally forced to confess.
"Furthermore, the court commented on Shinozawa's actions in the store, noting he tied the victims' arms and legs before splashing them with gasoline and lighting it.
"The crime, which left six innocent people dead, was of such a ruthless nature that it merits the death penalty. The families of the victims strongly hope for capital punishment," the ruling said.