「短すぎる」遺族納得できず…大学院生死亡の飲酒事故　男に懲役５年６か月求刑　背景に法律の壁

In a trial concerning a fatal drunk driving accident in Otaru City, Hokkaido, the prosecution has requested a five-year and six-month prison sentence for the man charged with dangerous driving resulting in death. Read the article for this video https://news.ntv.co.jp/n/stv/category... While some in the victim's family feel the sentence is too short, why was this sentence requested? The man charged with dangerous driving resulting in death is Ryota Osawa, 34 years old. In September 2024, Osawa is alleged to have been in a state of impaired driving due to the effects of alcohol on a national highway in Otaru City, resulting in a collision with an oncoming vehicle and the death of graduate student Tomoki Tanaka. (Osawa) "I knew I still had alcohol in my system, but I thought 'it'll be alright' and drove anyway." This is what Osawa said at his first trial. It has been revealed that he drank approximately 20 drinks over a period of more than 12 hours. The prosecution pointed out that he was driving immediately after drinking a large amount of alcohol over a long period of time. They requested a sentence of 5 years and 6 months imprisonment, arguing that he was unaware of the dangers of drunk driving. On the other hand, the defense is requesting leniency, arguing that he has vowed never to drive again. Regarding the prosecution's request, Tanaka Tomoki's parents said: (Tanaka's parents) "Frankly, we feel it's too short. This might encourage people to take drunk driving lightly. As a bereaved family, we are extremely disappointed." The family is not satisfied with the requested sentence. Behind this lies a legal limitation. This accident was judged not as making normal driving "difficult," but rather as a situation where normal driving was likely to be impaired. Therefore, the case is being prosecuted under Article 3 of the Dangerous Driving Resulting in Death law, which carries a lighter statutory penalty. Experts point to this as a limitation of the system. (Attorney Hiroshi Nakamura) "Article 3 sets a relatively light penalty, so both the prosecution's request and the judgment tend to be lighter compared to Article 2, which deals with dangerous driving resulting in death. If the driving leading up to the accident appears normal, it's difficult to prosecute under Article 2; there are limitations to this. I feel there's a major flaw in the framework of the legal system itself." How will the judiciary determine the severity of responsibility for drunk driving? The verdict will be handed down on July 29th. (Broadcast July 8, 2026) #OtaruGraduateStudentFatalAccident #DangerousDrivingResultingInDeath #DrunkDriving