A man has been arrested for breaking Japan’s ‘dueling’ law from the 1800s after a street brawl over a game of Shogi turned deadly.
26-year-old Fugetsu Asari was arrested on January 8, 2026 on suspicion of duelling and causing death by injury.
According to reports from local news outlets, Asari allegedly committed the crime on September 23, 2025 in Kabukicho, one of Japan’s most famous entertainment districts.
Asari says he met his victim, 30-year-old Naoya Matsuda, for the first time that night. The two played a game of Shogi together (also known as ‘Japanese chess’) before an argument broke out between them. Asari was allegedly drinking at the time of the incident.
The crime reportedly took place in Kabukicho, pictured here.
Speaking to police, Asari couldn’t recall what sparked their disagreement, but things soon turned violent in what reports called a “one-sided” assault against Matsuda.
During the ten-minute beating, Asari allegedly threw his victim on the ground and injured his head and face, resulting in his eventual death on October 12 from multiple organ failure due to brain damage. Police say his death was a direct result of the fight.
“I am very sorry that my opponent died,” Asari said during his statement admitting to the charges against him, admitting that “something trivial” had sparked his ire toward Matsuda.
Japanese man faces prison time after duel turns deadly
Asari was charged with breaking Japan’s law against dueling. It is the country’s oldest law against criminal behavior and was first introduced in 1889, when Queen Victoria was still alive.
As per the Mainichi Shimbun, Japan’s duelling law “prohibits challenging someone to a duel or accepting such a challenge, as well as being a witness to a duel.”
The law states that “anyone who has engaged in a duel shall be punished by imprisonment for no less than two years and no more than five years.”
Unsplash.com: Alireza HeidarpourJapan’s dueling law is over 100 years old and is rarely enforced.
Asari is also on the hook for causing death from involuntary injury, which carries a minimum sentence of three years in prison.
As is the case in many other countries, use of duelling laws is quite rare. However, Japan did experience another such case in October 2025 after an adult man and a high school student were arrested on suspicion of dueling.
This is just the latest unusual news to come out of Japan this month after zookeepers at a Wakayama zoo started dressing up like pandas to offer visitors a special experience after China took back its national animal amidst rising political tensions between the two countries.
