Tokyo's high-end Harry Winston jewelry store was stolen in November 2015 [Getty Images]
Two British men accused of robbing a luxury jewelry store in Tokyo can send him to Japan after a landmark ruling.
For nearly a decade, Japanese authorities have been extraditioning Kaine Wright, 28, Joe Chappell, 38, and a third person for the allegations they filed as customers for stealing items worth £679,000 ($106 million) from Harry Winston's store.
Chief Magistrate Judge Goldspring rejected Wright and Chappell's challenge to extradition on Friday. Now, their case is forwarded to the Home Secretary to decide whether it should be sent to Japan.
There is no extradition treaty between Britain and Japan, which means it will be the first time that Japan has successfully accepted a fugitive.
After the Japanese government appealed, the High Court rejected Japan's initial request, but the High Court overturned the original decision.
In Friday's verdict – Wright of London's BBC-Plumstead and Chappell of Belvedere's Chappell raised concerns about the conditions of Japanese prisons, which they believe are “arbitrary, excessive and violations of international standards”.
The Japanese government said the opinions were “fundamentally legal and factual.”
Goldspring, chief magistrate of England and Wales, found that there was a “skinned case” – at first glance, there was enough evidence to support the charges – against Chappell, which would be “compatible” with his and Wright's human rights.
Kaine Wright appeared in Westminster District Court last month [PA Media]
Friday's ruling came under a recent High Court decision, with the Japanese government having an extradition case of Wright, Chappell and a third person named Daniel Kelly, Wright's father in the paper.
The case against Kelly in Japan will be heard at the end of this month. He did not attend previous extradition hearings due to the murder of the murder case against him.
Details of the High Court decision in January showed that the Japanese “rely on a range of evidence” that Kelly, Wright and Chapel traveled to Tokyo during the November 2015 jewelry raid.
Japanese authorities said CCTV captured all three people who arrived at Narita International Airport on November 18, 2015 and remained at the “Elm Share House”.
CH Insp Suzuki has developed an investigation record for the High Court, which shows that the three people “cab by taxi” to Harry Winston's branch in Emotesando Hills.
He said the trio left many items in the Armani jacket to escape.
CH INSP Suzuki added: “The goggles remained in the store and a coat was left on the route of the robber's escape from the scene.”
A professor at the Tokyo Academy of Dental Sciences compared Epassport images taken at Narita Airport and compared them to CCTV stills of three men taken at the Harry Winston Store.
“The likelihood of two (or three) people in the relevant comparison is very high,” Ch Insp Suzuki said in his report.
Among other DNA matches, the CH INSP Suzuki report also mentioned “expert evidence that in the display box of the jewelry store, the three people found fragments of glass in the property.”
Lawyers representing Wright and Chapel challenged the report's findings in the High Court.
The Japanese government said it would ensure that the three people have the right to consult lawyers privately, record any interviews, and have the right not to answer any questions.
Wright, a former promising footballer for West Ham United and Brentford books, was convicted in 2023 in an attempt to sell a clear vase stolen from a Swiss museum.
On any further appeal, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper now has 28 days to decide whether to extradite Chappell and Wright or reject Japan's request.
