Kyoto court acquits Tanaka in network president murder case — The Japan Times

The Kyoto District Court in Japan found 59-year-old Yukio Tanaka not guilty in the murder case of Takayuki Ohigashi, the then-72-year-old president of Ohsho Food Service, which operates the Gyoza no Ohsho restaurant chain. The Japan Times reports.

The murder took place in 2013

Ohigashi was shot dead on the morning of December 19, 2013, in the parking lot in front of Ohsho Food Service's headquarters in Kyoto. In the following months and years, the case remained unsolved, while numerous public speculations circulated over who was responsible.

Tanaka was arrested in October 2022, nine years after the murder. At the time, he was serving a sentence in another case. He was charged with murder and violating the weapons law.

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The defendant's position

The trial began in late 2025, and Tanaka pleaded not guilty. According to the publication, he is a senior member of the Kudokai yakuza group, based in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture.

At the opening of the trial in November 2025, Tanaka stated that he was not guilty and denied involvement in the high-profile crime.