A JAPANESE court has handed down the death penalty to a 34-year-old man for the brutal killing of four people in Nakano City in 2023.

The court dismissed the defense’s plea that Masanori Aoki was suffering from schizophrenia and therefore had “diminished capacity.”

On the evening of May 25, 2023, Aoki stabbed two elderly women, Yasuko Takeuchi (70) and Yukie Murakami (66), while they were walking in Nakano. When police officers arrived after an emergency call, he used a hunting rifle and a knife to kill Takuo Ikeuchi (61) and Yoshiki Tamai (46).

During the trial, the defense asserted that Aoki was in a delusional state, influenced by schizophrenia and related mental disorder, which impaired his judgment. They argued that these mental health issues should warrant a life sentence instead of the death penalty.

Prosecutors countered, however, that despite signs of mental illness, Aoki retained sufficient capacity to understand right from wrong and control his actions.

In a report by BBC, Judge Masashi Sakata, presiding over the lay-judge trial, described the crime in the verdict delivered October 14, 2025, as “extremely cruel” with a “strong intent to kill,” stating there was no room for leniency.

The court acknowledged that while Aoki may have experienced delusions, these did not invalidate his criminal responsibility under Japanese law.(Victoria Diana, USJ-R Comm Intern)

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