TOKYO (TR) – The frenzied stalker who stabbed pop idol Mayu Tomita over 30 times has been handed a prison term of 14 years and six months, the conclusion of a trial that saw the defendant ejected from the courtroom for repeatedly shouting at the victim during trial, the Yomiuri Shimbun reports (Feb. 28).
At the Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday, presiding Judge Hiromi Abe described the stabbing of Tomita, 21, by defendant Tomohiro Iwazaki, 28, as “clearly having murderous intent.”
The prosecution had sought a 17-year term.
“It is necessary to have awareness regarding the seriousness of depriving the victim of her dreams. In controlling yourself, I want you to learn how to live by following the rules,” Abe said of Iwasaki, who was seen in the court offering a small nod.
On May 21 of last year, Iwasaki, who was charged with attempted murder, stabbed Tomita in 34 locations, including her chest and head, with a knife prior to a concert at a venue in Koganei City.
During a hearing on February 23, Iwazaki shouted “Then kill me” when Tomita told the court he should never be freed while she read out her statement, according to Nikkan Sports (Feb. 23).
Tomita was concealed by a screen as she read her statement in a tearful voice, telling the court Iwasaki “must never be forgiven. He’s the kind of person who embraces emotions in a one-sided way and tries to kill people when things don’t go his way.”
Judge Abe warned Iwazaki, who was listening expressionless, to refrain from irregular remarks after his outburst of “Then kill me” when Tomita said the “criminal hasn’t repented even once, he’s still smiling deep down. The criminal will do this again.”
Tomita went on to say the criminal will “try to kill people again” when Iwazaki angrily shouted that “there’d be no way I would kill,” prompting him to be ejected from the courtroom 20 minutes into the trial.
The courtroom took a break and reconvened before the prosecutor read out the rest of Tomita’s statement.
Tomita was wheeled out of the courtroom after her condition deteriorated during the prosecutor’s summation and recommendation regarding sentencing.
Tomita bears numerous scars and is suffering impaired vision in her left eye, according to her lawyer.
Perpetrator spotted in Yui Hatano AV
Tomita’s widely reported case took a bizarre turn when tabloids and netizens identified Iwazaki in an adult video (AV) production featuring performer Yui Hatano, who takes “Real Amateurs on a Virgin Graduation Bus Tour.”
Iwazaki was identified in a group photo taken by one of the participants by confirming the position of his mole and the shape of his face, prompting Afternoon News to muse that the finding “must mean amateurs really are being used” in AV productions.
Workers Magazine reported that Iwazaki made a “disturbing” post prior to the stabbing on his blog, saying that the “kind of women who appear in AV should all commit suicide,” a remark made in light of his discovery that Ai Hashimoto, a model he was infatuated with at the time, was once addicted to romantic pornography.
Anti-stalker law
The stabbing prompted the government to motion to expand Japan’s Anti-Stalker Law so that obsessive messages on social media are counted as obsessive behavior alongside repeated phone calls and e-mails.
The government also announced plans to allow prefectures to enforce restraining orders without requiring police to send warnings to perpetrators.
Discussions also arose of the lack of protection for independent musicians and idols like Tomita, who appeared in a number of dramas before taking on smaller gigs as a singer and guitarist.