Australian Daniel Otto jailed in Japan over Tokyo break in

An Australian man has been jailed in Japan in a case that hung on whether he told the victim “Get to a door” or “This is a robbery”.

An Australian man has been jailed for two years in Japan for breaking into an elderly man’s home in a rare court case that hinged on the language barrier.

Daniel Matthew Otto, a 33-year-old video game programmer who studied in Sydney, was sentenced in the Tokyo District Court on Friday after he was convicted of assaulting a man aged in his 70s during a late night break-in of the elderly man’s home just outside Tokyo.

The case hinged on whether Otto shouted “Go to a door” or “gōtō da”, which translates from Japanese to roughly mean “this is a robbery” during the incident that occurred after 11.30pm on June 23, 2023.

The rare nature of Otto’s case resulted in it receiving interest from local media.

A court sketch artist's impression of Australian Daniel Matthew Otto, 33, who was sentenced to two years jail in Tokyo District Court. Source: Miyoshi Ruki via sankei.com

According to the reports, the court was told Otto broke into the two storey house in Shinjuku Ward via the roof and balcony, and injured the elderly man’s head during a wrestle before fleeing the scene.

Judge Jun Shimato rejected Otto’s argument that he only entered the house to warn the man of a fire danger after he smelt gasoline.

The trial hung on the words uttered by Otto and whether he had been misheard by the elderly man.

Otto’s lawyers argued that he was passing the home and told the man “Go to a door!” and “Can you walk?”.

The victim claimed Otto shouted “gōtō da” and “kane wa doko da?” (Where is the money?) in Japanese.

On Friday, Judge Shimato rejected Otto’s argument and ruled that he was “untrustworthy”, the report said.

He reached the decision after hearing Otto tried to unlock a window of the house using a small gardening shovel and that he grabbed the victim’s wrists when inside.

The judge told the court that if there was a fire risk, Otto could have warned the victim through an intercom at the door.

Otto also did not call the police when he left the scene.

There was also no evidence of gasoline, or a smell of it, at the scene, the report said.

Otto was originally charged with robbery resulting in an injury, assault and trespassing.

The judge found Otto guilty of breaking into the property and injuring the man before dismissing the robbery charge.

Otto has already served 240 days in custody waiting for the trial to conclude.

The technology programmer, who studied in Sydney’s University of NSW before moving to Japan, had claimed he was on his way home after drinking nearby and was doing parkour, a pursuit that involves a person navigating urban environments in an athletic manner.

Misheard words and grammar formed a major part of the case.

One of the arguments included whether Otto told the man to go “the” door, or “a” door.

Otto’s lawyers argued that he said “Go to ‘a’ door,” which could have sounded like “robbery.”

Local reports said Otto was preparing to appeal the decision.