HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii inmate convicted of the 1994 murder of a Japanese psychic and her son was killed in prison, authorities said.
Staff at the Halawa Correctional Facility in Aiea, outside Honolulu, found Raita Fukusaku, 59, bleeding on the floor of his cell with head and neck trauma early Monday, according to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
“It was determined that the victim had been assaulted and stabbed by his cellmate, a 38-year-old male,” Honolulu police said in a public information bulletin.
The cellmate was immediately removed and placed in a holding unit, the corrections department said.
Authorities were still investigating Tuesday. The Honolulu medical examiner's office had not yet released a cause of death.
Fukusaku was the first Japanese national to be extradited to the United States and convicted of murder, Hawaii News Now reported.
He was serving a prison sentence for two counts of second-degree murder.
He was found guilty in 1995 of killing Kototome Fujita and her son Goro Fujita, according to KITV, which reported that Kototome Fujita was found shot in her penthouse and that her son was found dead in his car in a parking structure of a Waikiki hotel. The condo unit and Goro Fujita's car were set on fire.
Myles Breiner, Fukusaku's former attorney, told KHON-TV he never had any problems in the 30 years he's been in prison.
“He wasn’t gang-related, he seemed to rise above all that. He got along with all the staff,” Breiner said. “I’m not satisfied with the fact that this occurred. This should not have occurred.”
This photo provided by the Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Raita Fukusaku, an inmate who was found dead in his cell at Halawa Correctional Facility in Aiea, Hawaii on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Hawaii Department of Corrections via AP)
This photo provided by the Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Raita Fukusaku, an inmate who was found dead in his cell at Halawa Correctional Facility in Aiea, Hawaii on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Hawaii Department of Corrections via AP)
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Leaders and top officials from an international group founded to counter Western alliances met in Pakistan's capital Wednesday, with Moscow and Beijing announcing they will boost cooperation.
The 23rd meeting of the China-and Russia-founded Shanghai Cooperation Organization was held amid tight security in Islamabad, virtually on lockdown, and attended by leaders including Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and the prime ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Mongolia.
According to Russian state news agency Tass, Mishustin said during a meeting with Li on the sidelines of the gathering that “despite unprecedented external pressure,” both countries are “increasing the volume of mutual trade and launching joint investment projects." He also said they are “creating new international transport corridor ... and strengthening food security in Russia and China.”
The Chinese premier said Beijing was willing to work with Moscow to strengthen strategic coordination, expand cooperation and contribute to the development and revitalization of the two countries, reported the official Xinhua News Agency.
The member state leaders attending the SCO meetings called for enhanced cooperation in the fields of security, trade, and health, minimizing the impacts of climate change and boosting people-to-people contact.
Jaishankar, India's foreign minister said the objective of the SCO is to “strengthen mutual trust, friendship and good neighborliness," adding that “if trust is lacking or cooperation inadequate, if friendship has fallen short and good neighborliness is missing somewhere, there are surely reasons to introspect and causes to address.”
The two countries have had a history of bitter relations since the end of British colonial rule on the Indian subcontinent in 1947, which led to the India-Pakistan Partition.
Meanwhile, Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan's information minister, boasted on state-run Pakistan Television of organizing “the international event” within years of joining SCO, “in a safe and secure and conducive environment.”
Over a week ago, two Chinese engineers were killed in a suicide bombing claimed by an outlawed separatist group that opposes Chinese-funded projects in Pakistan.
Thousands of Chinese nationals work in the South Asian country on projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative which aims to reconstitute the Silk Road trade route and has seen Bejing building power plants, roads, railroads and ports around the world. It is a major part of President Xi Jinping’s push for China to play a larger role in global affairs.
In his opening remarks, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for expanding the initiative and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, focusing on roads, railways, and digital infrastructure.
He also said stability in Afghanistan was vital to realize an “invaluable and rare opportunity for trade and transit” that would benefit SCO members. He urged the Taliban government in Kabul to ensure "Afghan soil is not misused for terrorism against its neighbors by any entity”.
Sharif's remarks came amid a surge in violence in Pakistan, for which Islamabad blames militants based in Afghanistan. The Taliban has denied the charge.
In a joint statement, the SCO meeting said member states reaffirmed their intention “to further develop cooperation in the spheres of politics and security, trade, economy, finance and investment, and cultural and humanitarian ties in order to build a peaceful, safe, prosperous and ecologically clean planet Earth to achieve harmonious coexistence of man and nature”.
It said leaders and officials from Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan had reiterated support for China's One Belt, One Road initiative. They also vowed “to cooperate on climate change and overcome its negative consequences.”
Sharif said the next meeting of the SCO — established in 2001 by Moscow and Beijing — will be held in Russia in 2025.
Associated Press writers Ashok Sharma from New Delhi, India and Ken Moritsugu from Beijing contributed to this report.
In this photo released by the Press Information Department, India's Minister for External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, left, shakes hand with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as he arrives to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (Press Information Department via AP)
In this photo released by the Press Information Department, Iranian Minister for Industry, Trade and Mining Seyed Mohammad Atabak, left, shakes hand with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as he arrives to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (Press Information Department via AP)
In this photo released by the Press Information Department, China's Premier Li Qiang, left, shakes hand with his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif as he arrives to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (Press Information Department via AP)
In this photo released by the Press Information Department, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, left, shakes hand with his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif as he arrives to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (Press Information Department via AP)
In this photo released by the Press Information Department, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, center, China's Premier Li Qiang, fifth left, Belarus Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko, fourth left, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, sixth right, Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, fifth right, Tajikistan's Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda, fourth right, and other leaders pose for group photo at the opening session of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (Press Information Department via AP)
In this photo released by the Press Information Department, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, center, delivers his speech at the opening session of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (Press Information Department via AP)
In this photo released by the Press Information Department, China's Premier Li Qiang delivers his speech at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (Press Information Department via AP)
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, left, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, center, and Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene pose for a photo on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of Governments Summit in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (Roman Naumov, Sputnik, Government Pool Photo via AP)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, right, and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin pose for a photo on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of Governments Summit in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (Roman Naumov, Sputnik, Government Pool Photo via AP)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, left, and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin pose for a photo on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of Governments Summit in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (Alexander Miridonov, Sputnik, Government Pool Photo via AP)
