Trial date set for teen accused in fatal stabbing of Kadena High student

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A trial is scheduled next month in the case of a Japanese teen who is accused of murdering a Kadena High School student with a replica sword in November, according to Naha District Court.

The teen, whose name and current age was withheld by Japanese authorities, was 17 years old when he was arrested in a Yomitan apartment where Edward Allshouse Jr., 17, the son of a U.S. civilian worker, was fatally stabbed in the chest during an argument over a woman.

The trial will begin June 18, and a verdict and possible sentencing are expected on June 22, the district court said. Prosecutors said in January the teen will be tried as an adult for murder, a charge that potentially carries the death penalty in Japan.

The suspect was apparently friends with Allshouse, who was a popular student and member of a local rock band. His death caused an outpouring of grief from the small Japanese-American community on Okinawa, with about 200 people attending his funeral, including the commander of the nearby Torii Station Army base.