Japan Article Says He Killed; L.A. Man Sues

A Los Angeles sushi chef who claims he was falsely identified as a suspect in the 1981 murder of a Japanese businessman’s wife filed a $1.2-million libel suit Tuesday against the Japanese magazine that allegedly named him as “the actual offender of the shooting.”

In his Los Angeles Superior Court suit, Masato Saito said the Tokyo magazine, Shukan Josei, carried his photo and his initials in an article claiming he would be the next suspect arrested in the unusual murder investigation.

Both Kazuyoshi Miura and his wife, Kazumi, were attacked in an alleged robbery attempt on a Los Angeles street in 1981. Miura, a well-known importer, survived the shooting, but his 28-year-old wife died three months later without regaining consciousness.

Denounced U.S.

Miura, who initially made headlines in Japan when he denounced the United States as a country of violence and demanded that Los Angeles police find the men responsible, was arrested by Japanese authorities last year on charges of attempted murder in connection with an earlier attack on his wife at the New Otani Hotel.

Miura’s former girlfriend, Michiko Yazawa, pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the case but denied that she had conspired with Miura to obtain part of the $480,000 in insurance Miura had taken out on his wife.

According to the lawsuit, the Shukan Josei article in January said: “M.S., who is involved in the Los Angeles scandal, will be arrested by the Japanese police. The charge is possession of drugs. But it is just an excuse, and the fact is that it will be the second arrest on the separate charge . . . M.S. has been highlighted in L.A. as the actual offender of the shooting of Kazumi.”

Hasn’t Been Questioned

Saito’s attorney, Arthur Stein, said his client does not know any of the parties involved and has not been questioned by any law enforcement authorities in connection with the case. “He doesn’t have any idea how they associated him with this crime at all,” he said.

“Since this appeared, he lost one of his jobs, and he’s lost some face in his community, because everyone thinks he has some involvement with the murder.”

Los Angeles police spokesman Cmdr. William Booth said local authorities still have not identified suspects in the case.

“The Japanese press really had a field day with this case for a long time, and I have seen a number of articles . . . that suggest a tremendous amount of speculation that could not have been founded upon any information provided by this department,” Booth said.