The Mitaka incident (三鷹事件, Mitaka jiken) was an incident that took place in Tokyo, Japan on July 15, 1949, when an unmanned 63 series train with its operating handle tied down drove into Mitaka Station on the Chūō Line, killing six people and injuring 20.[1] The incident remains a mystery, as do the Shimoyama and Matsukawa incidents which occurred around the same time.
The government indicted ten people on a charge of train sabotage resulting in death of the victims, as well as the train's conductor, Keisuke Takeuchi, who was not in the train when it derailed.
Historyedit
On the day of the derailment, all four of the police officers at Mitaka Station abandoned their posts; this was never explained. Two of the alleged conspirators were indicted for perjury. Takeuchi's lawyer refused to allow a co-worker to present evidence affirming that he and Takeuchi were in a public bath together when the train left the station (an apparently airtight proof that at least one other person was involved), claiming it was "irrelevant to the case".[1]
In a court ruling in 1955, the judge found there was no evidence of a conspiracy, but rather that Takeuchi had planned and executed the entire incident himself.[2] Takeuchi was sentenced to death; the other defendants were declared innocent of all charges. All appeals of the verdict were rejected. All the acquitted defendants were members of the Japanese Communist Party, but Takeuchi was not. Takeuchi died in jail in 1967 of a brain tumour.[3] Until his death, he continued to proclaim his innocence while in prison for life.[4][3]
In 2010, an article from the Japan Times mentioned that the confession Takeuchi provided was done under duress from the police.[1]
In 2019, the Tokyo High Court denied a request to have a retrial for Keisuke Takeuchi.[2] His son, Kenichiro, mentioned that he was disappointed at the decision.[2]
mitaka, incident, 三鷹事件, mitaka, jiken, incident, that, took, place, tokyo, japan, july, 1949, when, unmanned, series, train, with, operating, handle, tied, down, drove, into, mitaka, station, chūō, line, killing, people, injuring, incident, remains, mystery, s. The Mitaka incident 三鷹事件 Mitaka jiken was an incident that took place in Tokyo Japan on July 15 1949 when an unmanned 63 series train with its operating handle tied down drove into Mitaka Station on the Chuō Line killing six people and injuring 20 1 The incident remains a mystery as do the Shimoyama and Matsukawa incidents which occurred around the same time Mitaka incidentDerailed train after the incidentLocationMitaka Tokyo JapanCoordinates35 42 10 N 139 33 39 E 35 70278 N 139 56083 E 35 70278 139 56083DateJuly 15 1949 21 23 UTC 10 WeaponsTrainDeaths6Injured20PerpetratorKeisuke Takeuchi accused The government indicted ten people on a charge of train sabotage resulting in death of the victims as well as the train s conductor Keisuke Takeuchi who was not in the train when it derailed History editOn the day of the derailment all four of the police officers at Mitaka Station abandoned their posts this was never explained Two of the alleged conspirators were indicted for perjury Takeuchi s lawyer refused to allow a co worker to present evidence affirming that he and Takeuchi were in a public bath together when the train left the station an apparently airtight proof that at least one other person was involved claiming it was irrelevant to the case 1 In a court ruling in 1955 the judge found there was no evidence of a conspiracy but rather that Takeuchi had planned and executed the entire incident himself 2 Takeuchi was sentenced to death the other defendants were declared innocent of all charges All appeals of the verdict were rejected All the acquitted defendants were members of the Japanese Communist Party but Takeuchi was not Takeuchi died in jail in 1967 of a brain tumour 3 Until his death he continued to proclaim his innocence while in prison for life 4 3 In 2010 an article from the Japan Times mentioned that the confession Takeuchi provided was done under duress from the police 1 In 2019 the Tokyo High Court denied a request to have a retrial for Keisuke Takeuchi 2 His son Kenichiro mentioned that he was disappointed at the decision 2 See also editList of rail accidents 1930 49 References edit a b c The Three Big Rail Mysteries that Defined Japan s Summer of 1949 a b c http www asahi com ajw articles AJ201908010064 html Archived on 2 August 2019 a b The Japanese National Railways Incidents Enduring Mysteries from Post War Japan 24 May 2015 日本労働年鑑 第２４集 １９５２年版 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mitaka incident amp oldid 1193394106, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
