Overview
- A lay judge trial in Asahikawa concluded on Monday with 23-year-old Riko Uchida convicted of murder, confinement and nonconsensual indecent assault and given a 27-year prison term matching prosecutors’ request.
- Prosecutors said Uchida and others abducted a 17-year-old from Rumoi in April 2024, forced her to undress, filmed and humiliated her on Kamui Bridge and shouted for her to “fall” or “die” before she plunged into the Ishikari River.
- Presiding Judge Yuka Tanaka ruled that repeatedly threatening and cornering the victim so she believed she had no option but to fall is legally equivalent to executing murder, while Uchida denied any intent to kill or that she pushed the girl.
- A 21-year-old accomplice’s 23-year sentence has been finalized and two other suspects were handled through family or juvenile procedures, reflecting the case’s mix of adult and youth defendants.
- The sentencing was briefly halted when a spectator stormed the courtroom demanding the death penalty, and the ruling may prompt broader scrutiny of how Japanese courts assign criminal responsibility for psychological coercion in group violence.