軽井沢スキーバス転落、二審も実刑　無罪主張の社長らに　遺族「上告しないで」【グッド！モーニング】(2026年5月23日)

Ten years ago, a ski bus crashed in Karuizawa, killing 15 people. On the 22nd, the Tokyo High Court rejected the not-guilty pleas of the two defendants, including the company president, and handed down prison sentences. ■Two defendants appeal the first-instance verdict Six months ago, on the day the trial began, a bereaved family member said the following: Yoshihiko Otani, who lost his son: "The fact that the two have appealed and refuse to admit their guilt is unacceptable to us, the bereaved family. The fact that this will continue is extremely unpleasant for me." In 2016, a ski bus crashed off the road in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, killing 13 university students and two drivers. The president of the bus company "ESP," Misaku Takahashi (64), and the then-operation manager, Tsuyoshi Arai (57), were indicted on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury. The Nagano District Court, in the first trial, found the two defendants guilty of negligence and sentenced Takahashi to three years in prison and Arai to four years. After the trial, the bereaved families said… Mr. Otani: "To avoid causing our family any more suffering, we sincerely hope they will not appeal." However, their hopes were in vain, as the two defendants appealed the verdict. Mr. Yoshinori Tahara, who lost his son: "They have appealed and do not admit guilt, but lives were taken and injuries occurred because people boarded a bus from a company with sloppy safety management. I want them to acknowledge their guilt. I want them to reconsider how they should behave." ■Court upholds first-instance verdict; second trial also upholds prison sentences Ten long years have passed since that tragic accident. On the 22nd, the Tokyo High Court handed down its verdict. Tokyo High Court "There is nothing unreasonable about the first instance judgment's finding of foreseeability and breach of duty of care on the part of the defendant, and its recognition of a causal relationship with the accident." The court upheld the first instance judgment and dismissed the appeal. Following the verdict, the bereaved family members said… Mr. Tahara "It's long, frankly speaking, it's long." "As a victim's family member, I strongly feel that the process could be a little faster in cases like this." Mr. Otani "The first thing I think is, please don't appeal. Don't make our family suffer any more." The bereaved family members also touched upon the accident that occurred on the Ban'etsu Expressway during this year's Golden Week during this year's press conference. Ms. Tahara: "I felt incredibly sad, to the point where I couldn't help but think that this could have been prevented if this verdict had been handed down a month or two earlier." "I hope that today's verdict will help to convey at least some of the lessons learned from the Karuizawa accident, and that people will be more mindful of ensuring safety before operating their vehicles. That's what I thought again today." (From the broadcast on May 23, 2026) [TV Asahi NEWS] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp