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Tokyo court hands woman 12 years in prison over murder of lover

Seikin Okuma
Seikin Okuma (Fuji News Network)

TOKYO (TR) – The Tokyo District court on Friday sentenced a 34-year-old woman to 12 years in prison over the stabbing death of a man with whom she was engaged in an extra-marital affair last year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Jan. 19).

Early on August 10, Seikin Okuma, an independent businesswoman, used a knife to fatally stab Kazumasa Kurabe, 45, at the apartment they shared in Chiyoda Ward.

Police later arrested Okuma on suspicion of murder. A kitchen knife with a 17-centimeter-long blade was found at the scene.

During the trial, the defendant said that she did not have an intent to kill. “During a quarrel, I happened to stab [him] with a kitchen knife,” the defendant said.

However, the presiding judge did not acknowledge the claim due to the fact that the defendant plunged the knife through the chest of the victim and to his heart — a depth of more than 16 centimeters.

The suspect telephoned emergency services after committing the crime, which the judge took into consideration.

“The crime was out of selfishness,” the judge said. “There was no planning, and help was sought immediately after the crime. But it is not a mistake to say that a person’s life was ended in an unreasonable manner.”

Wife and children

After the call was made, police arriving at the residence found the body of Kurabe collapsed and bleeding inside a room. He was confirmed dead about one hour after arrival at a hospital.

Kurabe had a wife and children. He and Okuma began living in the unit two years before the incident.

Upon her arrest, Okuma said the dispute that led to the stabbing was about his family. “He was going on a trip with his wife and children but covered it up by saying he was going with friends,” she said.