Prosecutor to appeal in Tokyo hostess murder case

LONDON, Apr 25 (Reuters) Tokyo prosecutors will appeal against this week's acquittal of the man accused of murdering British bar hostess Lucie Blackman almost seven years ago, her mother said today.

In one of Japan's most horrendous sex crime cases, Joji Obara was sentenced to life in jail yesterday for raping eight women and drugging, raping and killing a 21-year-old Australian bar hostess, but cleared of similar charges in Blackman's case.

Her mother Jane Steare said she received a telephone call from the British Embassy in Japan to say the Tokyo Public Prosecutor would be appealing against Obara's acquittal.

''I am so relieved that the prosecutor has taken this decision, which as Lucie's mum I fully support,'' Jane Steare told Reuters in a statement.

''I believe that there are grounds to be optimistic that an appeal will succeed. All I have ever wanted is justice for my darling daughter Lucie.'' The case of Blackman, a former British Airways flight attendant, has attracted international attention and highlighted the dangers faced by women working in Japan's hostess clubs, where men pay huge sums to drink and chat with women.

Yesterday's verdict stunned Blackman's family and her father told a news conference in Tokyo that he would urge prosecutors to appeal against the acquittal.

Blackman's dismembered remains were found in a seaside cave in Japan seven months after she vanished in July 2000.

REUTERS ABM VV1508