Japan's Tomita denies already-admitted camera theft

Disgraced Japanese swimmer Naoya Tomita today tearfully denied he had stolen a journalist's camera at the Asian Games in September, despite previously admitting the crime to South Korean police.
The 25-year-old, who was booted out of the Asian Games in Incheon and slapped with an 18-month ban by the Japan Swimming Federation, said he had confessed because he feared he would not be allowed to return home.
He also claimed that the poolside security camera footage Korean prosecutors said showed him taking the $7,600 camera was unclear.
"I didn't steal the camera," Tomita told a news conference in Nagoya, claiming an unidentified person had grabbed his arm and placed a "black object" in his bag.

"It's true I confessed to Korean police but I regret doing that. I was scared about how long it would take before they allowed me to go back to Japan."
"Maybe my heart was weak," he added, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I shouldn't have confessed. The police showed me pictures of the security cameras only on a smartphone and the images were very rough and blurred. They didn't show me taking a camera."
Tomita's lawyer, Bujiro Kunita, said Korean police had fabricated the charges and had used an interpreter with insufficient Japanese. He suggested the real culprit had been someone with a vendetta against the Japan swimming team.

"I have dealt with cases where people have confessed to a crime they did not commit," he said. "Whoever put the camera in my client's bag probably had a grudge against the Japanese team. There is no motive for this crime. He is in the prime of his career and it makes no sense to jeopardise his future by doing something like this.