MIE (TR) – The Tsu District Court last month handed down a suspended prison term to a 59-year-old man for stalking a former colleague at her residence.
On October 21, presiding judge Hiroaki Deguchi handed down a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for three years, to former newspaper store owner Takushi Uemura for violating the Stalking Prevention Act, reports the Ise Shimbun (Oct. 22).
According to the ruling, Uemura showed up at the home of the woman, aged in her 30s, in November last year. He also stalked her by loitering around her home from December of that year to March of this year.
In his ruling, judge Deguchi stated, “He had feelings for the victim, who was employed at the newspaper store he ran, and had been on friendly terms with her, but he became angry when she quit her job and suddenly changed her attitude. He barged into the victim’s home and rummaged through her household garbage at the garbage dump.”
He went on to state, “This was a persistent, insidious and despicable crime, motivated by selfish motives. The victim’s anxiety and fear were not small.” However, he concluded that a suspended sentence was appropriate, citing factors such as “he acknowledged the committing of the crime and expressed remorse. He also has no significant criminal record.”
On July 11, 2024, he was arrested by the Mie Prefectural Police for violating the Stalking Prevention Act. Twenty days later, he was indicted by the Tsu District Public Prosecutor’s Office.
