OSAKA (TR) – Prosecutors at the Osaka District Court have demanded a six-year prison sentence for a 23-year-old woman accused of chopping off her live-in boyfriend’s nipples and finger, while her defense team argued for an acquittal, claiming the victim consented to the mutilation.
During the sixth hearing for Saki Sato, both sides delivered their closing arguments. Sato faces three counts of assault resulting in injury following a series of gruesome incidents inflicted upon her unnamed boyfriend, reports News Post Seven (May 3).
Prosecutors argued that Sato subjected the victim to extreme psychological control and isolation. After meeting on social media in 2020, Sato systematically alienated the victim from his family and friends. During their cohabitation in Osaka City’s Kita Ward, she locked his bankbooks and passport in a safe only she could open, and strictly controlled his smartphone access.
As proof of this captivity, prosecutors presented a message Sato sent to a former nightclub boss: “I have a man, but I don’t let him have a phone.” Another photo showed the bloodied victim next to a knife-wielding Sato, captioned, “Made up with this.”
Saki Sato (X)“This is the first time”
The court was presented with horrifying details of the three specific charges.
In the first incident, Sato allegedly severed the man’s nipples simply because she “wanted to see if they would grow back” after hearing a rumor. When the victim refused, she threatened him with eviction and manipulated him by saying, “If you don’t want to, it means you don’t love me.” As she cut him, she shoved a towel into his mouth to muffle his screams of agony. She later took a photo of the severed tissue resting on a pair of scissors, adding the caption, “Tried cutting off his nipples.”
The violence escalated in a second incident when Sato discovered the victim had a browser history for a sex-work website. Enraged, she purchased an axe and ordered the amputation of his ring finger to ensure he could never wear a wedding ring with another woman. The victim reportedly took an excessive dose of sleeping pills to numb the pain before submitting to the mutilation.
Afterward, Sato allegedly rejoiced, saying, “This is the first time I’ve cut off a person’s finger.” When the victim asked to go to a hospital, she refused, telling him, “I worked so hard to cut it off, why are you trying to reattach it?” She then photographed the severed digit on a cutting board and posted, “I cut off his finger, so I forgave him.”
Beaten barehanded
In a third incident, Sato demanded the victim be beaten with a blunt weapon so he could experience the same physical pain she was enduring following a cosmetic surgery procedure. Under severe emotional duress and the familiar threat that he “didn’t love her,” the victim ultimately submitted to being beaten barehanded.
Despite the gruesome evidence, Sato’s defense team pleaded not guilty. While admitting the physical acts took place, they argued the mutilation was consensual based on the couple’s unique relationship dynamics.
Currently out on bail, Sato appeared in court shedding her previous pajama-like attire for a white shirt, black slacks, platform shoes and large glasses. Her defense emphasized that she is taking steps toward rehabilitation.
She is now working a part-time day job four times a week, has sold off her designer goods to pay back restitution money advanced by her adoptive father, and is undergoing psychiatric treatment to address her “distorted perceptions of love.”
The court is expected to hand down its ruling at a later date.
AloJapan.com