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Toyama Court Sentences Father to Eight Years for Quasi-Rape of Daughter

The judge ruled the victim was in a condition that made resistance extremely difficult under Japanese law.

Overview

  • Presiding Judge Toshiaki Umezawa described the crimes as heinous and habitual and matched the prosecution’s request with an eight-year term.
  • The conviction centers on an August 2016 assault at the family home in Kurobe after years of abuse that began when the victim was in middle school.
  • The defense acknowledged intercourse but argued the statutory element of "kōkyo funō"—inability to resist—was not satisfied and sought acquittal.
  • The defendant testified in July that intercourse occurred about eight times between the victim’s second year of junior high and second year of high school and offered an apology.
  • Victim Riho Fukuyama, 25, publicly identified herself in 2024 and testified that she felt her life had ended and continues to struggle with her health.