Prosecutors failed to do their jobs, claims bereaved father

Tim Blackman accused Japanese prosecutors of failing to do their job after the man charged with raping and killing his Tokyo bar hostess daughter was acquitted.

The Briton remained controlled during a press conference in Tokyo with his other daughter, Sophie, despite a deeply dissatisfying meeting with prosecutors after the verdict.

'We thought we had covered ourselves for every eventuality, and Sophie and I spent a lot of time yesterday preparing our statements for today,' he said.

'We had no idea that the prosecution would fail to make the charges stick. This has left us feeling completely unresolved.'

When the judge said that Joji Obara would receive a life sentence for causing the death of Australian Carita Ridgway and raping eight other women, Mr Blackman said he felt 'an immediate rush of elation'. But within seconds, the feeling disappeared when it became clear the prosecution had failed to win justice for his daughter.

'It is a bitter disappointment to us that Lucie's life has been lost to us and that the justice system has failed us.'