KAZUYOSHI MIURA CASE - QUICK LINKS

This page will be periodically updated.

THE PLAYERS, PAST AND PRESENT
Kazuyoshi Miura Japanese business man, and president of a fashion import company. In 1981, Miura allegedly conspired to murder his wife, Kazumi, for the three insurance policies that were taken out on her life; one of them was signed the day before the fatal shooting. 
Kazumi Miura Wife of Kazuyoshi, shot in the head. She remained in a coma for about a year until she died in 1982, in Japan. Not long after she was shot she was flown back to Japan on a U.S. Military aircraft. There are conflicting reports on whether or not Miura was with her on that flight. 
Takanori Abi: The chief journalist involved in Los Angeles Suspicions for Bunshun. These articles initiated an investigation in Japan which resulted in Miura being charged with the August, 1981 attempted murder of his wife. 
Bruce Berline: One of three defense attorneys representing Miura in Saipan. 
Bunshun Japanese weekly magazine.
Benigno R. Fitial: Governor of Saipan.
William Fitzgerald: One of three defense attorneys representing Miura in Saipan.
Frank Garcia: LAPD Dectective who worked the case in Los Angeles and assisted Japanese prosecutors in recreating the 1981 shooting crime scene.
Mark Geragos: Current defense attorney for Miura in Los Angeles and frequent TV legal commentator. He was contacted by Miura's lawyers in Saipan and asked to handle legal matters in Los Angeles. Considered a "celebrity attorney" with past clients such as Michael Jackson and Winona Ryder; loves the spotlight in front of a camera.
Mark Hanson: One of three defense attorneys representing Miura in Saipan.
Shinichiro Hironaka: Current defense attorney for Miura in Japan.
Futaba Igarashi: Defense attorney for Miura in Japan at his first trial for the August, 1981 attempted murder of his wife at the New Otani Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
Alan Jackson: DDA prosecuting Miura.
Rick Jackson: LAPD Detective, Cold Case Homicide Unit.
Nobutaka Machimura: Chief Cabinet Secretary and top government spokesperson for Japan. Machimura has stated that Japan would cooperate with the U.S. in the investigation of Miura if necessary.
Ramona Manglona Judge in Saipan. Manglona heads the court's proceedings over the arrest and extradition transfer of Miura.
Tim Marcia: LAPD Detective, Cold Case Homicide Unit.
Yoshikuni Matsumoto: A buyer for Miura's import company and charged as an accomplice in Kazumi's shooting death.
Yoshie Miura Current wife of Kazuyoshi. Married in 1985 on the island of Bali.
Mike Nisperos: Assistant Attorney General in Saipan handling the arrest and extradition of Miura in Saipan.
Ricardo "Ric" Ocampo: [now Judge Ocampo] former DDA prosecuting Miura.
Eri Poss: LAPD Officer.
Ira Reiner: Los Angeles District Attorney in 1981. Publicly stated Miura was the chief suspect in the death of Chizuko Shiraishi.
Charles Reyes, Jr.: Court Press Secretary in Saipan.
Jimmy Sadoka, Retired LAPD Lt. who originally investigated the case and assisted Japanese authorities in their prosecution of Miura. Sadoka, who has followed the case ever since, alerted authorities that Miura was planning on traveling to Saipan.
Saipan: U.S. Territory. The Superior Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is the jurisdiction handling Miura's transfer to the US.
Yasuko Sasaki: Kazumi's mother.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: Governor of California
Chizuko Shiraishi, Kazuyoshi's accountant and lover, murdered in Los Angeles back in 1979. Her body, found in a vacant Lake View Terrace field two months after she disappeared, wasn't identified until 1984. Sole suspect in her death is Kazuyoshi.
Jeffery Warfield: Chief prosecutor in Saipan handling the Miura arrest and extradition.
Koji Yamada: Chief prosecutor in Japan for the 1981 shooting death of Kazumi.
Michiko Yazawa, co-conspiritor, one time porn actress and former lover of Kazuyoshi in the August 1981 murder attempt on Kazumi at the New Otani Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.


GENERAL TIMELINE OF EVENTSAugust, 1981: Michiko Yazawa attacks Miura's wife, Kazumi, with a hammer in her room at the New Otani Hotel in Los Angeles, CA.

November, 18, 1981: Around noon, according to Kazuyoshi Miura, he and his wife Kazumi are attacked by unknown assailants while they were snapping pictures of the downtown skyline. Kazumi is shot in the head and Kazuyoshi is shot in his left leg on Fremont Avenue in downtown Los Angeles. Kazumi is left in a coma.

November, 1982: Kazumi dies in Japan.

1984: Japanese magazine, Bunshun , publishes a series of articles titled Los Angeles Suspicions that alleged Miura not only financially benefited from the murder of Kazumi, he also benefited from the murder of a former mistress, Chizuko Shiraishi, in 1979, taking thousands from her account after she disappears.

September 11, 1985: Miura is arrested in Japan for the August, 1981 attempted murder.

October 3rd, 1985: Miura and an accomplice, Michiko Yazawa, are charged with attempted murder.

January, 1986: Michiko Yazawa is convicted for her part in the August, 1981 murder attempt.

August, 1987: Muria is tried and convicted for the August, 1981 attempted murder of his wife at the New Otani Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

1988: Miura is charged with conspiracy to commit murder for the November 18, 1981 shooting death of his wife. He was charged in Los Angeles on May 5th, and at a later date in Japan.

1994: Suspected accomplice Yoshikuni Matsumoto, is charged with conspiring with Miura to murder his wife in the November, 1981 shooting. In 1994 he was exonerated, but convicted of smuggling a rifle and 100 pounds of ammunition from the U.S. into Japan. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

March, 1994: Miura is convicted of his wife's murder and sentenced to life in prison in Japan.

1998: Japan's high court overturned the lower court's sentence. A judge determined that his wife's assailant was unknown, acquitting Miura of the murder.

February 22, 2008: Miura arrested in Saipan.

March 28th, 2008: Next hearing date in Saipan.

Note: Los Angeles Times archives were used extensively for this background summary. Sprocket.

T&T Pre trial Coverage
March 15th, 2008 Kazuyoshi Miura: 1981 Cold Case Headed Back to Court
April 23rd, 2008 Kazuyoshi Miura: Pre-trial Hearing
April 23rd, 2008 Kazuyoshi Miura: Pre-trial Hearing, Part II
May 9th, 2008 Kazuyoshi Miura: Pre-trial Hearing
July 17th, 2008 Kazuyoshi Miura Case Delayed Again
September 26th, 2008: Judge Rules Conspiracy Charge Can Go Forward
October 2nd, 2008: Phil Spector, OJ Simpson & Kazuyoshi Miura
October 11th, 2008: Kazuyoshi Miura Found Dead!
October 24th, 2008: Kazuyoshi Miura's Body Creamated Thursday