Ex-Univ. Student Gets 23 Yrs over Tokyo Robbery-Murder

Tokyo, Sept. 6 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo District Court's Tachikawa branch on Friday sentenced a former university student to 23 years in prison over a robbery-murder last year in the city of Komae, Tokyo, one of a high-profile series of robberies across Japan allegedly committed by the same group.

The ruling was the first on the Komae case. Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of 25 years.

According to the ruling, Issei Nakanishi, the 21-year-old former student, broke into the house of a 90-year-old woman in Komae, conspiring with people including Rikuto Nagata, 22, on Jan. 19, 2023. They also fatally assaulted the woman and stole four items worth some 590,000 yen in total, including a luxury watch.

Presiding Judge Masaaki Sugiyama said that Nakanishi committed an "extremely despicable and vicious crime."

The defense side claimed that Nakanishi could not be considered guilty of robbery resulting in death because he did not hit the woman with a crowbar or conspire with the perpetrator who did that.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]