日婦用假護照探訪貓

Recently Asahi News reported the following:

米国に残したペットの猫が心配だった――。飼い猫に会うため、偽のパスポート（旅券）で米国へ渡航を繰り返したとして、旅券法違反の罪に問われた岐阜市の会社役員の女（４８）に対し、岐阜地裁は２７日、懲役１年６カ月執行猶予４年（求刑懲役１年６カ月）の判決を言い渡した。

　判決によると、女は２００５～０８年、偽造旅券で９回にわたり出入国を繰り返した。宮本聡裁判官は「軽率な犯行だが、組織的背景はない」と述べた。 公判でのやりとりなどによると、女は約２０年前に米国に語学留学して以来、アパートを借りて猫の親子数匹を飼っていた。しかし、１９９８年ごろに入国を拒否され、理由を十分に説明されなかったため、自分の旅券では渡米できないと思い込んだという。 そこで女は、幼なじみの女性に頼んで名義を借り、自分の顔写真を張って旅券を申請。渡航の際はこの旅券を使っていたという。 公判で「テロなどでアメリカは敏感になっている。大騒ぎになるところだった」と諭す宮本裁判官に、女は「猫が心配で仕方なかった。どうしても帰りたかった」。猫は他人が引き取るなどしたといい、「軽はずみなことをした」と反省していた。

"There was a worry for the pet cats that had been left behind in the United States. . ." In order to see the pet cats, it was believed that passage had been made repeatedly to the United States using a false passport (travel document). A sentence with four years suspension (prosecutor demanding one year and six penal servitude months) was handed down on the 27th by the Gifu district court to a woman (48) company executive in Gifu City who was accused of the violating the Passport Law and attracted a penalty of one year and six penal servitude months.

According to the court, in year 2005-8 this woman repeatedly embarked/disembarked using a forged passport for nine times. Judge Satoshi Miyamoto described, "It was a thoughtless crime and there was no organized background". According to the information disclosed during the public trial, the woman went abroad to the US to study language about 20 years ago and since then rented an apartment to keep several young cats and their parent. However, in around 1998 she was refused entering the country and the reason was not clearly explained, she became convinced that it was not possible for her to visit America with the passport. Then she asked her woman friend since childhood for help, using her friend's name, put in her own photograph and applied for a passport. It was said that she used this passport when making a passage. In the public trial judge Miyamoto admonished that ｢The United States is sensitive to terrorism etc. It became a fuss ｣. The woman said ｢I could not help but worried for the cats. I wanted to return by all means｣. It would be better if others could receive the cats, and in reflection she said "I had done a thoughtless thing".

In order to visit cats overseas, this woman dared to use false documents to apply for a passport. What an interesting person she was.