Philippines Poised to Extradite 2 Japanese Suspects

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:56 JST, February 4, 2023

MANILA — The Philippines is poised to extradite two of the four suspects allegedly linked to a Japanese robbery ring who are being held near Manila after local charges against the men were dropped.

The two suspects, Toshiya Fujita and Kiyoto Imamura, are expected to be deported to Japan next week.

The other two suspects, Yuki Watanabe and Tomonobu Kojima, are also facing charges in the Philippines. A court hearing that had been scheduled for Tuesday has been moved to Monday. The court is expected to deliberate on whether or not to dismiss the charges.

Japanese authorities had hoped all four suspects would be extradited together.