The key facts
- Yoshihito Oshima, son of billionaire Kenshin Oshima, died in Laos under unexplained circumstances
- Activist Joseph Akaravong published camera footage showing unidentified people opening fire in a Vientiane parking lot on October 14 at around 21:10
- LALCO announced the death on October 19 without stating the cause and later deleted the post; the company is now headed by Yuriko Oshima
Death of a businessman in Vientiane
Yoshihito Oshima, a businessman and the son of Japanese billionaire Kenshin Oshima, has died in Laos under unexplained circumstances. This was reported by Tokyo Reporter. A version circulating online suggests he was shot dead in the parking lot of a residential complex in Vientiane.
Surveillance camera footage
According to Laotian activist Joseph Akaravong, the attack took place on October 14 at around 21:10. He published surveillance camera footage showing unidentified people opening fire on the businessman in a parking lot. There is no official confirmation of this version in the publication.
Company reaction and leadership change
Oshima's death became known on October 19, when Lao ASEAN Leasing Public Company (LALCO), where he had previously served as a director, issued a statement. The cause of death was not disclosed in the announcement, and the post was later deleted. After that, the company's leadership changed: according to Tokyo Reporter, Yuriko Oshima — Kenshin Oshima's wife — became the new director, while the founder of the family business himself took the position of senior consultant.
Context
LALCO operates in Vientiane and is engaged in financial leasing, in particular of cars and motorcycles. The deceased's father is known as the founder of the Japanese financial corporation SFCG, which later went bankrupt. The cause of Yoshihito Oshima's death has not been officially named, and the circumstances of the incident remain unclear: the currently available information about the shooting comes from an activist and surveillance camera footage, not from official authorities.
