Italian city honors Japanese man who died after trying to break up a fight

Rome: A mayor in northeastern Italy has commended a 56-year-old Japanese man who died on Tuesday after getting beaten up for attempting to intervene in a fight.

Alberto Felice De Toni, the mayor of Udine in northern Italy, proclaimed a day of mourning on Wednesday in honor of Shimpei Tominaga, saying his loss represents “a serious and painful wound” for the city.

Local media reported that Tominaga, a Japanese businessman who ran a furniture trading firm in Udine, got beaten up while trying to break up a fight last Friday. He fell into a coma and had been put under intensive care at a local hospital but died on Tuesday.

Samuele Battistella, 20, was arrested for suspected manslaughter along with two others for throwing punches at Tominaga, Italy’s Sky TG24 reported.

Flags at public buildings in the city were either flown at half-mast or draped in black on Wednesday, according to the local government.

Udine is famous for hosting the Far East Film Festival, the biggest Asian film festival outside of Asia.