Suspicious Death of Chaebol Who Spent 30.6 Billion on 4,000 Beauties... 55 Years Younger, Ex-Wife Denies Charges

Inheritance of 1.5 Billion Yen Prohibited if Convicted of Murder

The first trial related to the death of a 70-year-old businessman who flaunted his womanizing using his wealth and called himself Japan's 'Don Juan' was held on the 12th. The ex-wife, who was identified as the suspect, completely denied the charges.

The sign language interpreter Nozaki Kosuke (left in the photo) and his wife Sudo Saki, who is 55 years younger than him. [Photo by NHK]

On the 15th, Asahi Shimbun reported that Sudo Saki (28), the ex-wife accused of murdering businessman Nozaki Kosuke (then 77), who died of acute stimulant poisoning in May 2018, claimed innocence at the first trial.

The prosecution believes that Sudo killed him using stimulants as a perfect crime. About two months before Nozaki's death, she searched keywords such as 'perfect crime drug' and 'stimulant overdose' on the internet. Also, one month before Nozaki's death, she ordered a lethal dose of stimulants through a smuggling site.

However, Sudo's defense attorney appealed, "Please judge whether the prosecution can prove that Sudo was able to administer a lethal dose of stimulants to Nozaki and that Nozaki would not have taken the stimulants himself." He also emphasized, "According to the presumption of innocence, if there is no evidence to prove Sudo's criminal charges, she should be considered innocent."

Nevertheless, the prosecution focused on the fact that Sudo was the only person with Nozaki at the estimated time of his death. Nozaki's inheritance is known to be about 1.5 billion yen (approximately 14.1 billion KRW). Although Sudo, as his wife, has inheritance rights, if she is convicted of murder or other crimes, she cannot become an heir.

Nozaki had published autobiographies dealing with his womanizing, such as “Kishu’s Don Juan, the Man Who Spent 3 Billion Yen (about 306 million KRW) on 4,000 Beauties” and “Kishu’s Don Juan Ambition Edition ? The Reason I Can Be ‘Active for Life’”. In those books, he included statements like "My desire is only sexual desire" and "I earn money to have sex with beauties."

He first met Sudo at Haneda Airport in 2017 and proposed to her, who was 55 years younger, saying, "Will you be my last woman?" They married on February 8, 2018, but he died three months later.