TOKYO (TR) – The Tokyo District Court on Thursday handed Yuka Takaoka, known as the “real life yandere,” a prison term of three years and six months over the stabbing of her boyfriend last year, reports Fuji News Network (Dec. 5)
On Thursday, the presiding judge handed Takaoka, 21, the prison term for a crime that he described as “selfish.” He added that she had a “strong intent to kill.”
The prosecution had sought a five-year term. The judge also said, “It is difficult to justify a suspended prison term. Prison time is unavoidable.”
Previously, she had reached an out-of-court settlement of 5 million yen with the victim, a 20-year-old bar host who goes by the name Runa.
“If possible, I want people to be able to lead a normal life rather than paying for their sins,” Runa told the court at the opening of the trial on Tuesday.
“No grudge”
Takaoka is the former manager of a specialty hostess club in the Kabukicho red-light district. After met the victim in October, 2018. They then began dating.
On May 23, she used a knife to stab Runa while he slept inside her residence in Shinjuku Ward, the ruling said.
Officers arriving at the scene at around 4:00 p.m. that day found Takaoka seated on the floor of the building’s lobby, her hands and legs covered in blood.
In one image that emerged online later, she simultaneously talks on the telephone and smokes a cigarette with Runa, his abdomen sliced open, collapsed behind her atop a blood-smeared floor. He was later transported to a hospital.
The victim later said that he held “no grudge” against Takaoka.
After her arrest on suspicion of attempted murder that same day, she said, “Since I loved him so much, I just couldn’t help it,” she said. “After killing [him], I, too, wanted to die.”
Takaoka then became a social media sensation. Users found Takaoka’s appearance and alleged actions highly compelling.
Yandere
One reason for Takaoka’s popularity online is rooted in the idea that she is a real-life incarnation of a yandere character from the world of anime. Such a character, typically female, turns to homicidal violence in pursuit of love.
At the opening of the trial on Tuesday, Takaoka admitted to the allegations.
A memorandum written on her mobile telephone was read into the court record: “I want to be a tragic heroine. How is it possible for him to look at a woman other than me? I know killing [him] is for the best. If I kill [him], it will be eternal, and there will be no pain [after]. I don’t need anything other than you.”
As the judge read the ruling on Thursday, Takaoka listened carefully. However, her shoulders began to quiver and she started sobbing.
