A 32-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday for stalking and killing his ex-girlfriend in Fukuoka Prefecture in January 2023.
Prosecutors had demanded a 30-year prison sentence for Susumu Terauchi, describing his actions as a “brutal and deeply evil crime.”
On the evening of January 16, 2023, Terauchi stabbed 38-year-old Miki Kawano to death on the street near Hakata Station in Fukuoka’s Hakata Ward, while Kawano was on her way home from work.
He stabbed her more than seventeen times with a kitchen knife. According to prosecutors, the wounds were up to eight inches deep.
Police had previously issued a restraining order against Terauchi after he called her several times after the two broke up. Prosecutors say the break was the man’s motive for killing Kawano.
Terauchi admitted to stabbing Kawano, but denied the stalking charge. He said he stabbed her in a sudden outburst when he bumped into her and that it was not premeditated. He claimed he had the knife for self-defense.
Judge Atsushi Tomita urged Terauchi to face the consequences of his actions and show remorse, local RKB Mainichi Broadcasting reported.
After the verdict, Terauchi, who will not appeal the case, told his lawyer how sorry he is for the victim and her relatives, and that he will reflect on what he did in prison, the report said.
Terauchi was also found guilty of beating and seriously injuring a man on the street in the same neighborhood in August 2022.
Criminal cases resulting from stalking have increased in Japan, with 1,708 cases reported in 2023, up from 1,491 in 2019, according to government data.
