Man Who Led Hokkaido Group Assault Given Life Term

Sapporo, Aug. 7 (Jiji Press)--Sapporo District Court on Friday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for his role in a high-profile group assault case in the northern Japan prefecture of Hokkaido in 2024.

The life sentence for Yuto Kawaguchi, who was 18 years old at the time of the incident, was in line with the prosecution's demand.

In the same case, the court also sentenced another man, who was a 17-year-old minor at the time, to 30 years in prison, as requested by the prosecution.

Presiding Judge Masaki Takasugi acknowledged that Kawaguchi led the fatal assault of Tomoya Hase, a 20-year-old university student at the time, at a park in the Hokkaido city of Ebetsu from Oct. 25 to 26, 2024.

According to the ruling, Kawaguchi and the then minor conspired with four others to assault Hase and steal his cash and credit card. Hase died from traumatic shock.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]