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The Tokyo District Court has sentenced a 72-year-old man to nine years in prison for killing a 28-year-old female acquaintance by causing her to ingest lethal amounts of stimulant drugs in 2018.
According to the court ruling handed down on Tuesday, Nobuaki Ishihara, a real estate company executive who lives in Shibuya Ward, caused the death of Yuri Igarashi by giving her sake mixed with stimulant drugs, or kakuseizai, as they called in Japanese, Fuji TV reported. Igarashi visited his residence on the afternoon of July 22, which security surveillance camera footage confirms.
That same afternoon, Igarashi sent her friend a message on Line, in which she said: “A man tried to get me to take drugs and I refused, but I think I just drank sake mixed with stimulants.” She later sent a second Line message in which she said she would “go to the police,” but was unable to be reached after that.
Ishihara said Igarashi passed out that night. The next morning, she was unresponsive and he called 119. However, she was pronounced dead at the scene. But he denied giving the woman stimulant drugs. An autopsy revealed that Igarashi had consumed stimulant drugs more than 100 times the amount considered lethal.
The ruling by the lay judge panel called the defendant’s criminal behavior “extremely malicious” for forcing the victim to ingest lethal amounts of stimulants. The presiding judge added that Ishihara, who had pleaded not guilty, “made unreasonable excuses and showed no remorse from start to finish despite the seriousness of his criminal liability.”
Ishihara met Igarashi, who was married, at a members-only club in 2016. Her husband told police she had gone out for the day on July 22 but never returned home that night.
© Japan Today
28 Comments
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Commodore Perry
Sad story of course, but many details to fill in.
The Nomad
Take a young life and you only get 9 years in the dumpster. Don't think that's justice.
timeon
Horrible story, and without knowing the details of the story, I pity the husband the most. Not only to find out that your wife was killed, but also that she was prostituting herself, and her 70 years old John killed her trying to spice up the affair.
obladi
石原信明
This is the wretched person who destroyed a life. For what?
Nohara
Judge: "Extremely malicious. No remorse."
Also Judge: "9 years will do."
geez... this is homicide
Ken Holcomb
Should have been a life sentence, but then 9 years for a 72 year old may well turn out to be just that.
ozellis
9 years tends to indicate that we don't know all the details here.
Old dude paid cash to victims.
Little understanding of the toxicity of kakuseizai.
Mark
An Evil devil, I wouldn't even call him a man.
englisc aspyrgend
Not quite sure why she visited him? If she visited as a prostitute, why drug her? He was going to have sex with her by paying? If she wasn’t there for sex, and he drugged her to get his evil way with her, why was she visiting? A lot of the facts as reported do not seem to hang together.
Mark
Sometimes the Justice system in Japan makes my head spin 360 degrees X 10, I just can't comprehend it anymore.
Layzee
Only nine years! Seriously???
kaimycahl
WOW!!! Ishihara met Igarashi, who was married, at a members-only club in 2016. Her husband told police she had gone out for the day on July 228 but never returned home that night. She was married, and went to a mans house whom she met at a members only club. I wonder if her husband knew if she was going to the guys house, and also if she was a member of the club. Its strange that she called a friend, and not her husbands when she realized she thought she was drugged. This lead me to think her husband had no idea of what she was doing and where she went.
descendent
They met at a "members-only club" ... shorthand for a happening bar.
Strangerland
Sick old man. This poor lady.
I do have to say, I wish the Japanese would report with more specificity than kakuseizai (a catch-all term for any stimulant in Japan).
ReynardFox
Amazing how in a story about a woman being murdered, people have the most sympathy for the men involved. But hey, I’m sure she had it comin’, right? I’m surprised no one here has trotted out the old standby of “what was she wearing?”
paddletime
Japan's justice system needs a serious overhaul. 9 years for murder? that's sad how do the judges sleep at night?
igfklin
The prosecutor's request was for 10 years in prison.
The defendant and his lawyer claimed innocence, saying that the woman had ingested the methamphetamine by herself.
Evidence included a phone call made by the victim to an acquaintance who said, "The drug was put in sake and I drank it without realizing it.
The defendant's hair analysis detected methamphetamine ingredients, and it seems that he was a methamphetamine addict.
Hiro
Is not rare that he only gotten 9 years. Living in prison for old people is not a cakewalk. According to our basic human rights, we humans have to be at least treated with a certain decency no matter what. You can't expect the old man to just die in prison considering he had no intention of murder. Even if the judge find him guilty, according to certain laws, he would never get that high of a prison sentence. Let be honest, the old guy probably is not gonna make it there for 9 whole years and even if he make it, by the time he got out, it's already a change world to him.
602miko
That should be two counts punishment, using drugs and take woman lifes .... ohh well prob 3 years for each, very light in other country drugs considering life time in prison. I guess?
Hiroshi13
@Hiro You can't expect the old man to just die in prison considering he had no intention of murder.
Since you know everything about this case, please tell us what his intentions were then, if not murder.
Why else give someone 100x a lethal dose of speed?
Ricky Kaminski13
Proper scumbag. Denied it right to the end too, at 72’ . Rot n jail and think about what you have done till you meet your own maker who will be equally disgusted. Bye now.
WA4TKG
Just another day in Tokyo
Jacobo
Unreasonably light sentence. Any company executive at 72 can make a phone call and have all kinds of services delivered at his home or office. Especially in Shibuya area. No need to kill. Might be a drug addicted old man.
Fighto!
Rest in Peace to the poor woman.
I hope the old scumbag dies in prison. Evil piece of rubbish.