3 Youths Jailed over Fatal Assault of College Student in Hokkaido

Sapporo, June 25 (Jiji Press)--Sapporo District Court on Thursday sentenced three youths over a robbery resulting in death, in which then 20-year-old college student was beaten to death by six people at a park in Ebetsu in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido in 2024.

Presiding Judge Masaki Takasugi sentenced former college student Haoto Kawamura, 21, to 30 years in prison. Prosecutors had sought an indefinite term.

Another defendant, former high school student Kaito Takizawa, 19, was given 20 years in prison, as sought by prosecutors. A boy aged 16 at the time of the incident was given an indeterminate sentence of nine to 13 years, while the prosecutors had called for one of 10 to 15 years.

The trial of the two main suspects, one of whom is former part-time worker Yuto Kawaguchi, 19, will open on July 13. The date of the trial of former college student Ama Yagihara, 21, who was the victim's girlfriend, has not yet been decided.

According to the ruling, the three defendants conspired with Kawaguchi and the other main suspect to beat to death the victim, Tomoya Hase, on Oct. 25-26, 2024. They also stole cash and a credit card from him, saying, "Give us everything."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]