Saki Sudo’s Trial: International Lawyer Weighs in on Defense Arguments

On September 12, international lawyer Hiroshi Kiyohara appeared live remotely on TBS’s “Gogosuma ~ GOGO! smile ~” and shared his insights on the defense arguments presented at the first hearing of Saki Sudo’s trial. Sudo, the ex-wife of Kosuke Nozaki, a wealthy Wakayama man known as “Don Juan of Kishu,” is accused of murdering Nozaki.

Sudo, 28, is accused of forcing Nozaki to ingest a lethal dose of stimulants orally on May 24, 2018. During the trial, the defendant denied the charges, stating, “I did not kill the president, nor did I force him to ingest stimulants. I am innocent.”

Although Sudo had some time alone with Nozaki on the day of the crime, there was almost no physical evidence to prove the crime. The prosecution presented evidence that Sudo had searched for words such as “perfect crime drugs” and “elderly perfect crime,” as well as questions about inheritance.

The defense argued that the trial is pointless if the conclusion is based on circumstantial evidence, stating, “There is no point in having a trial if the conclusion is decided based on ‘it seems suspicious, so he must be doing it.'” They objected to the current situation in which the defendant is being tried with little evidence.

In response to these allegations, Kiyohara commented, “The lawyer’s argument is correct.” He explained that in order to convict someone at trial, the prosecution must prove that the defendant is completely guilty. If the evidence is only circumstantial, the defendant cannot be found guilty.

Sudo was arrested in 2021, three years after the incident. The first hearing of the trial began this year, three years after that. Kiyohara analyzed the reason for the delay, stating that the replacement of Sudo’s lawyer midway through the trial was a contributing factor. He explained that the new lawyer needed time to review the case records and prepare for the trial, resulting in an unusually long delay.