Overview
- On Oct. 6, the Tokyo District Court convicted 23-year-old Noa Kitagawa and imposed a three-year prison sentence, suspended for five years with probation.
- The court found she gave birth in a bathtub, put the newborn in a plastic bag, and left him in a covered outdoor bin, where he was discovered about 12 hours later and survived.
- Presiding Judge Shōji Miyata said the danger to the infant was high and the act was blameworthy, as prosecutors had sought four years in prison.
- In court, Kitagawa said she repeatedly engaged in “papa-katsu” to support an underground idol habit and claimed she intended to surrender after a live event, and the father has not been identified.
- Lay jurors described the verdict as a difficult decision and said the concept of borderline intellectual functioning complicated their assessment.