A Japanese court on Tuesday handed down the country's maximum 30-year prison term to a 66-year-old man who was charged with sexually assaulting six women working at the pet shop he owned.
The Fukuoka District Court's ruling was in line with the demands of prosecutors.
Michio Honda was accused of sexually assaulting and being involved in other forms of sexual misconduct between 2017 and 2022 by falsely claiming to be a member of a crime syndicate and holding a traditional Japanese sword to at least one victim's neck.
Honda's defense had sought his acquittal, saying that the interactions were consensual.
© KYODO
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virusrex
Describing the viticms as "coworkers" seems very inadequate, he was the owner of the shop so obviously he had power over just employees.
The work of the defense is also something to reflect about, trying to completely exculpate the criminal by blaming the victims is not something people with ethics would accept doing.
balohor
Is anyone surprised? Johnny's and Fuji are just the prominent employers we hear about—Japanese women have long faced objectification, subjugation, and abuse in the workplace.
Continue reporting these stories, Japanese media, to bring them to the forefront of authorities' and the public's minds.
Japan's worst-kept secret needs greater exposure.
Fighto!
Good. This violent old rapist is going to most likely die in prison where he belongs. Hope it's as miserable as possible in there.
I just hope this brings a little closure and justice to the poor victims
Sum
Why the heck does this comment have so many votes? This happens almost every week now.
purple_depressed_bacon
He should have gotten 30 years per victim but better than nothing. At his age, he'll likely never see the outside again and will rot in prison until his dying breath.
garypen
We may be seeing more reporting of sexual assaults lately. But, this is one of the rare instances of actual justice being served upon the perpetrator.
Of course, if he was a politician or celebrity, he could just bow, apologize, and resign (and maybe payoff the victim), and he would get either a suspended sentence or not be prosecuted at all.
Sum
@garypen
I'm talking about the comments. My comment literally got 20 downvotes in the last ten minutes.
WoodyLee
SCUM.
TokyoLiving
Good..
Enjoy jail..
Mocheake
Should have gotten life. Vile predator. Sell his business and all profits go to the women who were sexually assaulted.
ILoveDownvotes
Good. But why are sexual assault sentences so inconsistent...
Eat the left
Are you saying employers have MORE responsibility than employees to not commit sexual offences?
Do you know how the court system works?
nandakandamanda
Surely sentences like this will finally give comfort to women who have long believed the system was biased towards men, i.e. not really there to protect them.
therougou
This guy obviously had no connections.
asdfghjkl
Unfortunately there is also a pattern in Japan of repeat old age offenders who prefer to go back in so that they are not living alone and have someone to care for them. Hoping this is not the case for this guy as he deserves the harshest punishment and more. death would be too good for him wouldn’t be an understatement.