The Asahikawa District Court (Mainichi)
ASAHIKAWA, Hokkaido (Kyodo) — A 20-year-old woman was sentenced on Friday to 23 years in prison by a Japanese district court for killing a high school girl by forcing her off a bridge into a river in Hokkaido, northern Japan, last April.
Yuka Konishi was charged with murder, sexual misconduct leading to death, and confinement of the 17-year-old student, allegedly conspiring with another woman, 22-year-old Riko Uchida.
In handing down the ruling at the Asahikawa District Court, Presiding Judge Yoshihiro Ogasawara dismissed an argument that Konishi was in a “subordinate position” to Uchida.
Konishi “actively participated in the series of crimes,” Ogasawara said, citing that she had acted in a “fit of rage, driven by emotion,” upon realizing she might be arrested after the victim sought help at a convenience store when the chance arose.
According to the ruling, the victim was confined in a car between the night of April 18 and the early hours of April 19, 2024, after she had posted a photo of Uchida on social media without her permission.
The victim was then filmed while being forced to undress near a bridge in Asahikawa and made to sit on the railing of the bridge before falling into the Ishikari River, where she drowned. Konishi and Uchida had allegedly told the student to “fall” and “die.”
The judge said Konishi’s role was “slightly smaller” in comparison with Uchida, who initiated the crime by confining the victim to force her to pay money.
Prosecutors had sought a 25-year prison term, while the defense had argued for 15 years. Following the ruling, the defense expressed no intent to appeal.
Under a revised juvenile law that implements stricter punishments for 18- and 19-year-old criminal offenders, media are able to disclose the identity of Konishi, who was 19 at the time of the crime.
AloJapan.com