TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 26-year-old man from Chiba Prefecture over the alleged fatal assault of a second man whom he had challenged to a fight in Shinjuku Ward last year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Jan. 8).
Tokyo police are classifying the incident as a “duel,”which has been outlawed for more than one century.
At around 4:00 a.m. on September 23, Fuga Asari conspired with a male Mongolian national to fight Naoya Matsuda, aged 30 at the time, on a sidewalk in the Kabukicho red-light district.
During the fight, Asari allegedly threw Matsuda to the ground, inflicting head injuries. He died from multiple organ failure on October 12.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of assault resulting in death and dueling, Asari, who lives in Yachiyo City, Chiba, admitted to the allegations. “I am deeply sorry that my opponent died,” he said.
“Toyoko”
The incident took place in the so-called “Toyoko” area, which is near the Toho Cinemas complex in the heart of Kabukicho. Popularized on social media as toyoko, a reference to the complex, the area is a gathering spot for runaways and delinquents.
According to police, the suspect met Matsuda for the first time on the day of the incident. The dispute is believed to have arisen over drinking.
Three days after assault, Matsuda fell. He was subsequently taken to a hospital, where he died.
Dueling
Police are treating the incident as a duel. The Mongolian man, aged in his 40s, was at the scene at the time. He is suspected of inciting the duel. However, he has already been deported for illegal residence.
According to the Asahi Shimbun (Jan. 8), a law enacted in 1889 makes dueling punishable by imprisonment for a period of between two and five years. Even if a duel does not actually take place, the law prohibits challenging, witnessing or providing a venue for a duel.
While there is no written definition of a duel, a Supreme Court ruling once defined it as “an act of combat in which the parties mutually agree to inflict physical or life-threatening violence.”
Last October, Gunma Prefectural Police arrested a male high school student and a man on suspicion of dueling.
