I have worked in the Japanese world for close to ten years.

The Japanese do not much respect their own women, and are not likely to have ANY respect for a foreign woman working in a bar in Tokyo.

We should clearly understand that Japanese attitudes towards sex and justice, right and wrong, are very different from our Judeo-Christian ideas and ideals.

Obara is a prominent, wealthy, Japanese MAN. The Japanese police and courts will "go through the motions", but in the end Obara will go free. The dead women are seen as worthless prostitutes.

Japanese crimes against women during WWII are horrific and legendary: Read about "The Rape of Nanking" and about the "comfort women" kidnapped from all over Asia to serve as prostitutes for the Japanese army. They should stand as a stark warning to any other British women. .

In Japan it is not WHAT is done that is important...as much as WHO has done it

Garth Strong, Glen Ellen, USA

Its not as bad as british soldiers killing 100's of innocent women and children and abusing the taken prisoners.....I think we can move on now

Karthik, London,

There are more room for conviction from circumstantial evidences in jury trial as they never have to explain themselves. In Japanese criminal trial, the argument such as "Look at other crimes he committed!" is specifically ruled out for being prejudicial. As the judges stated in ruling, there are no forensic evidences directly linking Obara to the body. The burden of proof required for conviction is much tighter in Japan to the point of being anal which largely explain the 99% conviction rate. Westerner instead prefer cliche explanation about reliance on confession which is just an another example of thinly disguised prejudice about Asian institution. If such accusation is true, Amnesty International would be showcasing "specific" cases where such miscarriage of justice takes places. It is American justice system which is addicted to confession. Hasn't anyone heard about "plea barganing"?

Hajime, Manchester, U.K.

I will tell you Brits something....

1.Obara is a Korean, not Japanese.
2.Japan is no dangerous place than Britain cuz there is no Jack the Ripper.
3.Japanese jurisdiction is controlled by law, not by emotion.
4.There is no evidence of Rape of Nanking or forced comfort women.

ketty, Tokyo,

When will we get over blaming a victim for her fate. "Girls who willingly spend the night with a relative stranger, cannot then blame the wolf for having sharp teeth." The victim cannot speak for herself & the likely killer will be free before too long.

M.Thomas, Brewster, Massachusetts, USA

Robbed of justice, but certainly £450,000 better off - and he's jailed for life. It's a shedload more than he would have got in England.

Without knowing the specifics, it seems like they couldn't prove the case well enough. I reckon that, plus the fact that a judge made the ruling, rather than a jury meant that there needed to be more proof, rather than relying on emotion for a guilty verdict

Michael, Newcastle,

Having worked in a Japanese environment for ten years, I can say the following:

1) The Japanese do not have western attitudes towards
crime and justice. Who is accused of what is far more important than what he is accused of doing!

2) Women are not generally respected in Japan. Foreign women are even less likely to be respected.

3) Judeo-Christian attitudes towads right and wrong are foreign to the Japanese.

4) Crimes against women by the Japanse in WWII are legendary and have been extremely widely reported:
eg: The Rape of Nanking and the widespread kidnapping of women of many nations for use as "comfort women" by Japanese soldiers. The World has been thoroughly warned! Women should take note!

The rape and murder of a foreign woman by a Japanese man is therefore not likely to be taken seriously, in reality, by the Japanese police, nor by the Japanese Justice system.

Garth Strong, Glen Ellen, USA

I knew Lucie - not well, but well enough to know her character - and am horrified by the verdict. She was a lovely girl and a British Court would have easily been able to convict this poor excuse for a man on the evidence. It is yet another example of the ridiculous farce that is the Japanese legal system. Condolences to all the family.

Sarah Higgins

Sarah Higgins, Chatham, England

It's about time the Japanese got a jury system.

Phil Craig, London, UK,

I was surprised at this verdict. Obara has killed one women except for
Lucie Blackman, and assaulted ten women for eight years.
I thought that Obara would be sentenced to death.
But after I looked over subject of rape resulting in deth on wikipedia,
I grasped the punishment of the crime: indefinite term imprisonment or
five to twenty years imprisonment.
The content of the verdict is the most severe punishment to
Obara.
Lucie's family seems angry with the judgement. But, a verdict in the
civil trial often differs from that in the criminal trial. I think of sentences
from time on as not so unjust to the Licie's family.

higasino, nagasaki, japan

R Davar, clearly a 'Mr'. What a revolting point of view you have. The suggestion that this woman bore any responsiblility for her own horrific end is a suggestion worthy only of contempt. Absolute sympathy for her family, how do you ever come to terms with such brutality towards your own child, further compounded by a total absence of justice.

Emma, London,

No point looking for another killer they had their man and let him escape

dave heath , gloucester, england

This is perhaps not simply a shortcoming of the japanese legal system but also a comment of Japanese mens attitude towards women. Having worked for a large Japanese institution for many years, and travelled to Japan on many occassions, it is clear that women are treated as second class citizens, objectified, and abused on a daily basis.

Patrik Bateman, london, uk

Maybe under Japanese Law our murder victim should have kept herself in better condition after her death, to enable full inspection - clearly she has only herself to blame.
8 rapes and a murder conviction?
Japan has good reason to feel embarrassed by this.

Mike Medina, St. Albans, England

Having seen other recent reports of similar crimes in Japan it seems that Japan is a VERY unsafe Country for single and young women to visit ,and yet they seems to keep going, probably thinking it will not happen to them. Perhaps the Japanese Government or Tourist authorities should issue clear warnings to young persons not to visit or work in such places as Lucie Blackman is alleged to have worked ?.

Alan, Guildford, UK

Pretty appalling decision. I think Japanese "justice" is shamed by this decision. Evidence not used and "pay-off's" by the perpetrator to the victim's family. I knew he would be found not guilty - they would rather sweep everything under the carpet.

Damian, London, UK

If you have enough money you can do what ever you want and do not expect to be punished! Long live democratic justice - what??????

John, Glasgow, UK

As far as I know, being a hostess is not illegal... Michael, why would anybody want to kill someone and dismember their body. Remember the crime here? How sanctimonious can you get?

Andy, Detroit, Michigan

Mr Davar, your comment disgusts me - are you implying that it was acceptable for Mr Obara to murder Ms Blackman because she was reckless? Granted she was foolish, but to state you "cannot blame to wolf for having sharp teeth" is outrageous.

Lulu, London,

Asian Mafias have more influence over government policies. Our founding fathers in America did a better job putting in checks and balances in the system.

Alpha, Boston, US

I'm not normally moved to comment on these pages, but I find R. Davar's comment that one "cannot blame the wolf for having sharp teeth" disgusting and contemptible. You can blame the 'wolf', Mr Davar, because he's a thinking human being blessed with the power of choice. This horrible crime results from the actions of a disturbed and violent man, and Lucie has no role in this but the tragic victim.

Johnny, Paris,

The J Cops bungled this badly. There is a mountain of circumstantial evidence here, but no smoking gun? Not even OJ could have squeezed his way out of this one. The police dropped the ball.

Zero confidence in the Police and Justice system here in Tokyo. The family of Lindsay Hawker must be panicking....

This is very disappointing. My condolences to the Blackman Family.

Allan, Tokyo, Japan

Ah, here we go again, how dare these women put themselves into positions where weak and feeble men are unable to control their urges. They are human, not wolves and are in full command of their faculties, not an animal following instinct. The suggestion here is that 'she was asking for it' which I suppose is to be expected in a country that still practices Sati and arranged marriages.

J, Swindon, England

How overly polite of them.

Andrew Waldron, Ferndown, England

Whilst I feel that there is every likelihood that this man did kill Lucie, I have to say that if the trial was in this country and a guilty verdict was reached, it would probably be overturned upon appeal.
Maybe if the Police had been more diligent and found firm evidence things would be different. At least , Obara is behind bars for some of his evil deeds.
To all the critics about the “condolence money” , did they put in the time and effort to try and find her killer? He was absolutely correct in accepting the money.

John, Bexhill on Sea, UK

Reminds me of the OJ Simpson case.

Tony Walmsley, Ellesmere Port, England

Why on earth would anyone want to be a Bar Hostess in Tokyo anyway? The whole lifestyle is fraught with danger. Putting yourself in harms way is not a good idea.

Michael J Rigby, Blackburn, England

When you play with fire, you are likely to get burnt. Girls who willingly spend the night with a relative stranger, cannot then blame the wolf for having sharp teeth.

R. Davar., mumbai, india

I feel very sorry for the Blackman family. I worked in the biggest hostess bar in Tokyo for 3 years in the mid nineties as a barman and staff manager and heard some stories of Japanese men drugging young girls. There were customers that the girls had to be careful with. However on the whole this job was a safe and fun way to make money for backpacking travellers at the time and no harm came to most. I came to understand the japanese mentality very well in the time spent in Tokyo and this inability to convict Obara is typical Japanese. They cannot admit their errors now nor condemn their own murderers...cold reminders of their rape and pillage in WWII

tom, London, UK

Clearly the idea of justice is different in Japan. If you have enough money, you can bribe your way out of even the most serious charges. The man deserved to hang and he has been acquitted. if I were a Japanese woman or worse still a blonde foregner living in japan, I would be very worried by this verdict.

Adrian Gilbert, Tonbridge, England

Shocking decision in this case. I'm sure the western media will rightly be very critical of the police here in Japan. Does that mean they will reopen the case and find out who did rape and murder Lucie Blackman? Somehow I doubt it...

Dave Webb, Okinawa, Japan

out in three and a half years?
I be he won't complain at that.

Quite clearly justice has not been done

kev Lax, Shanghai, China

My heart goes to Mrs Steare.
Am afraid money speaks a lot in Japan especially in politicks and low world. It is more so than in this country.
Ms Blackman had involved with YAKUZA who are almost untouchable by police as this gangs are big and loyal to their boss and they will go prison if boss get in trouble however any trace was left behind or even convict murder to cover up or seppuku ( commit suicide) for their mistake which caused boss in trouble. Mr Blackman has accepted the money, whatever the reason might be. Am afraid there is no chance of justice.

kiyoko pullen (mrs), hemel hempstead, England

Playboy??? Rapist more like!!!!

jonathan, Hong Kong, Expat

It is an absolutely disgusting miscarriage of justice. Obara deserves the death penalty for what he did to Lucie. He has zero repentance for his crimes, as his lawyers continues to portray her as a dope fiend who died of a self-administered drug overdose, and who insists the rapes of all these women were consensual sex. As a father of daughters, the thought that someone like Obara might be back out on the streets one day makes me extremely angry. For the sake of all the people who need protection from someone like him, I pray that somehow he shall go to meet his maker before ever getting back out onto the streets again. My heart goes out to Lucie's mother who must be experiencing unimaginable anguish at the news of this travesty of justice.

Christopher Witmer, Tokyo, Japan