EXCLUSIVE: Lawyers for an Australian man who was jailed in Japan last week say they believe the court ignored crucial evidence throughout the trial.
The Tokyo District Court found Daniel Otto, 33, intruded into the Shinjuku home of Masahiro Masuda, 70, at 11.30pm on June 23 last year.
The court ruled the Australian man said "this is a robbery" before engaging in a scuffle with the older man.
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Otto's lawyers claimed the whole incident was a misunderstanding and the Australian's attempts to warn Masuda about the smell of a nearby gas leak were lost in translation.
Defence lawyer Rie Nishida argued Otto had been practising parkour outside when he smelled gas coming from a nearby building.
His lawyers claimed that after smelling the gas, he tried to warn the nearby residents of the potential fire risk by climbing their fence.
According to his lawyers, when he came face-to-face with the 70-year-old inside, Otto said in English, "Go to a door" – a phrase that sounds like "gōtō da", which means "this is a robbery" when translated into Japanese.
"Otto called out in simple English, saying, 'Gas, gas,' and 'Go, gas'," Nishida told the court in the opening stages of the trial.
The court found Otto reached inside the apartment and Masuda, who was gripping both of Otto's hands in resistance, was pushed back into the house.
The court's judgement stated that police officers at the scene didn't detect any smell of gasoline.
But the defence disputes this.
Nishida claims Otto was interrogated by police alongside a translator after his arrest in September 2023.
She alleged that the investigating officer, named only as police sergeant Yamamoto, spoke to the interpreter during the interrogation about the "gas-like smell".
Despite a recording of this interaction being played to the court, she said Yamamoto denied recollection of a gasoline smell.
"But the fact the investigation information exists, that the gasoline-like smell existed even months after the incident, it's a very, very supportive factor for us, but that was ignored."
Otto's legal team has not filed an appeal against the ruling.