28 July 2011 :

In Japan a high court upheld a lower court ruling that handed the death penalty to a man over a fatal arson attack at an adult video shop.
Kazuhiro Ogawa, 49, was sentenced to death by the Osaka High Court on July 26 for setting fire to a video shop in Osaka's Naniwa Ward and leaving 16 people dead in October 2008. The court upheld an earlier ruling by the Osaka District Court that convicted him of arson of an inhabited structure and murder.
"It was a catastrophic incident that has rarely been seen in Japanese criminal history, and it is only natural for the bereaved families of the victims to call for the ultimate penalty. The defendant deserves the maximum sentence," said Presiding Judge Sumio Matoba.
Ogawa's defense counsel is set to appeal the ruling. They have maintained his innocence, claiming that the fire did not start from a room where he was in and that he did not set the facility on fire.
The presiding judge determined that the defendant's confessions to the crime during the investigations were "no doubt" arbitrary, adding that the lower court decision that recognized the defendant's willfulness was reasonable.
The presiding judge determined the sentence in view of the gravity of the incident. He concluded that there was "no choice but to deliver the ultimate penalty," citing the fact that the defendant turned around to deny the allegations toward the end of the investigation and categorically denied committing arson during the trial.