TOKYO (TR) – A court here last week sentenced a former principal at a middle school in Nerima Ward to nine years in prison for sexually assaulting and injuring a 14-year-old female student.
On December 9, presiding judge Yasunobu Hosoya of the Tokyo District Court described the crimes of Hisaku Kitamura, 57, as “extremely malicious” in handing down the ruling, reports NHK (Dec. 9).
Kitamura was accused of quasi-rape and injury for using his position to sexually assault and injure the female student in 2010, when he was working as a teacher at another middle school.
He was also accused of violating the Child Pornography Prohibition Act by possessing obscene videos and images of the aforementioned sexual assault in the principal’s office last year. He also possessed illicit content of another incident involving another female student.
The prosecution had sought a 10-year prison sentence for Kitamura. They argued, “This was an extremely despicable crime, part of a series of habitual crimes that took advantage of the overwhelming hierarchical relationship between teachers and students.”

“I mistakenly thought we were dating”
During the trial, Kitamura denied the charges of quasi-rape and injury. “I fell in love with the female student, and my feelings got so high that I committed an animal-like act,” he said.
He added, “At the time, my emotions were as immature as a middle school student’s, and I mistakenly thought we were dating. I thought she accepted me.”
In handing down the ruling, judge Hosoya did not acknowledge the defendant’s claims. “The video shows the female student crying, and it is easy to see that she did not accept it,” the judge said.
The judge also said, “With an overwhelming hierarchical relationship as a backdrop, he escalated his acts by lying about massages and other things. This was a habitual offense, and it is extremely malicious, and we cannot overlook the fact that it took place inside a school where students should be protected. The victim spent her junior high school years suffering pain that she could not tell anyone about, and the psychological damage is enormous.”
“We will continue our efforts to eradicate sexual violence”
The Nerima Ward Board of Education opened a sexual violence consultation hotline in December last year. It plans to complete a new training program for students and teachers within this fiscal year.
In response to the ruling, the board commented, “We would like to once again offer our deepest apologies to the victims. We will continue our efforts to eradicate sexual violence by teachers and staff, and aim to create a school where the human rights of students are respected and they can be safe.”