A former hospital worker in Osaka has received a life sentence for sexually assaulting 10 elementary schoolgirls, prompting an outcry among observers who say the punishment is still too lenient.
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Tomoya Yanagimoto, 28, was sentenced in the Osaka District Court on Tuesday on multiple counts of rape resulting in injury, an offence that carries a maximum sentence in Japan of life in prison.
Yanagimoto pleaded guilty to the crimes, committed after he broke into his victims’ homes or their residential building complexes between March 2016 and May 2022.
As he delivered the sentence, presiding Judge Hiroki Ito said, “What you did is despicable and beyond the realms of maliciousness.”
During the investigation and trial, Yanagimoto claimed to have a mental disorder, but the court found him mentally competent to stand trial, citing his ability to work and function normally in society.
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Court proceedings revealed Yanagimoto meticulously planned his crimes by tracking the girls’ family schedules so that he could break in when his victims were alone. Images and recordings of the violent assaults were discovered on his smartphone.