TOKYO (TR) – The Tokyo District Court Tachikawa Branch has sentenced a 59-year-old man to 17 years in prison for stabbing his wife to death in a supermarket restroom over a baseless inheritance dispute last year, reports TV Asahi (July 21).
On Tuesday, the presiding judge handed down the ruling matching the prosecution’s demand, condemning Takayuki Kanezawa for the “extremely short-sighted and egocentric” murder of his 56-year-old wife, Masuyo.
The brutal attack occurred at around 10:30 a.m. on April 13 last year at a multi-story supermarket in Tokyo’s Kiyose City. According to prosecutors, Kanezawa purchased an 18.5-centimeter kitchen knife on the store’s third-floor household goods section. Just two minutes after the purchase, he followed his wife into the women’s restroom and launched a frenzied assault.
The deadly attack lasted a mere 48 seconds. Masuyo sustained seven stab wounds to her chest and abdomen—the deepest measuring 17 centimeters—along with numerous defensive wounds on her hands and arms. Kanezawa remained outside the restroom stall after the killing and was arrested on the spot by responding police officers as terrified shoppers fled the building.
Parents’ finances
The murder stemmed from Kanezawa’s one-sided grudge over his parents’ finances. Kanezawa had previously served time in prison, during which his wife dutifully cared for his ailing father and handled the family’s expenses, including his mother’s nursing home fees.
Upon the father’s death, a life insurance payout of 340,000 yen was deposited into Masuyo’s bank account—a transfer the father had specifically arranged in gratitude for her care. However, Kanezawa accused his wife of embezzling the funds and neglecting his mother.
Prosecutors argued his resentment was completely baseless and fueled by his own failure to verify the facts, noting that Masuyo had always acted in the best interest of his parents.
No justification
During the trial, the court heard that on the day of the murder, an argument erupted over the finances. Kanezawa claimed he flew into a murderous rage after his wife remarked about his mother, “She has dementia, so it doesn’t matter where she is.”
While the judge acknowledged that the victim’s words may have provoked anger, he ruled that it offered no justification for the horrific violence, resulting in the 17-year penal term.
