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| {{nihongo|'''Joji Obara'''|織原城二|Obara Joji|extra=born ] in ]}} is a ] property developer |
{{nihongo|'''Joji Obara'''|織原城二|Obara Joji|extra=born ] in ]}} is a ] ] property developer currently awaiting a ruling in his trial for the rape and subsequent deaths of ] ] ] in the summer of ], an ] woman ], and the rapes of six other women. | ||
| ==Background== | ==Background== | ||
Revision as of 03:13, 12 April 2007
Joji Obara (織原城二, Obara Joji, born 1952 in Osaka) is a Korean Japanese property developer currently awaiting a ruling in his trial for the rape and subsequent deaths of British hostess Lucie Blackman in the summer of 2000, an Australian woman Carita Ridgeway, and the rapes of six other women.
Background
Joji Obara was born Kim Sung Jong (김성종) to a poor Korean family in Osaka in 1952. During his youth his father worked his way from scrap collector to taxi driver to amassing a fortune with a string of pachinko parlours. At 15, Obara enrolled in Japan's most elite high school, a prep school affiliated with Keio University. Two years later, upon his father's death, he inherited holdings in Osaka and Tokyo. After graduating from Keio University with degrees in politics and law, he buried his Korean heritage, becoming a naturalized Japanese citizen and legally changing his name to Joji Obara.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s Obara invested heavily in real estate speculation. He sought and acquired trophies common among men of his class and generation – cars and caucasian women. After losing his fortune when the bubble burst and his firm collapsed, he reportedly used his business as a money laundering front for the Sumiyoshi yakuza.
Crimes
A prolific personal journal writer, police revealed that he believed "Women are only good for sex" and stated that he "can not do women who are conscious." His personal video tapes, 4,000 to 5,000 of which were recovered by police, confirm this, leading them to believe that he may have raped anywhere from 150 to 400 women.
In October 2000, Obara was arrested and charged with the drugging, raping and death of Blackman and another hostess, 21 year-old Australian model Carita Ridgeway, who died in 1992. He was also charged with raping six other women. According to the indictment, he made Blackman a drink containing a drug before raping her at a condominium in Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture. She subsequently died. A ruling in the case will be handed down April 24, 2007. Obara has maintained his innocence, but he unsuccessfully tried to bribe the families of Blackman and Ridgeway with a sum of £500,000 (£300,000 to Blackman and £200,000 to Ridgeway) to not testify. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
References
- ^ The Times, Timesonline August 17, 2005
- 60 Minutes Transcript – Night Stalkers Retrieved December 21, 2006
- PM – Japanese businessman arrested over rape of Australian woman Retrieved December 21, 2006.
- Obara did not kill Blackman, lawyers say in closing statement Retrieved December 13, 2006