Woman Gets 27 Yrs for Hokkaido High School Student Murder

Asahikawa, Hokkaido, June 22 (Jiji Press)–A district court in Hokkaido, northern Japan, sentenced a 23-year-old woman on Monday to 27 years in prison over a high-profile murder case in which a female high school student ultimately fell from a bridge to her death in 2024. At Asahikawa District Court, Presiding Judge Yuka Tanaka handed down the sentence to Riko Uchida in line with the prosecution’s demand. The judge said that Uchida repeatedly pressured the then 17-year-old victim to die, making her feel “great despair and fear.” The judge described this as a “cruel and despicable” crime. According to the ruling, Uchida conspired with others, including a 21-year-old woman who has already been convicted and is serving a 23-year prison term, on April 18-19, 2024 to force the student to sit naked on the railing of Kamui Bridge in Asahikawa and caused her to fall into the river, following a dispute over social media posts. During the lay judge trial, the defense side claimed that the defendant did not intend to kill the victim and was not directly involved in the murder. However, the judge acknowledged that the student was “in a mental state where she could not choose any action other than falling” because she was repeatedly told to “die” and “fall.” “Regardless of whether the victim fell from the bridge by mistake or by her own decision, the defendant’s actions can be recognized as direct involvement in the murder,” the judge concluded. The judge also condemned the defendant for trampling on the student’s personality and dignity in a fit of rage. “(The victim) was deprived of her precious life in the unimaginable suffering of drowning in a rushing river, and this consequence is grave,” the judge added. While the judge was reading the ruling, a man broke into the courtroom shouting, causing the court to be temporarily recessed. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]