It was strange that all media in Japan stopped reports about the case all the sudden, when it turned out that Obara is actually a naturalized Japanese citizen whose original name was Kim Sung-jong.
Bearing in mind the events of yesterday and today, this thread is so out-of-date (and the title so specific to just one element of the case) I think there should be a new thread for discussion of the actual verdict.
(If i've erred please feel free to delete the other thread and this post, and sorry for the trouble i've caused.)