SHIGA - A court in Shiga Prefecture has sentenced a 29-year-old former sex industry employee to life imprisonment for the murder of a company president, the theft of his cash card, and the disposal of his body in Lake Biwa.
According to the ruling and other court findings, Yui Ichihashi, a former employee of an adult entertainment establishment, conspired with Tetsu Kato, 47, one of her customers, to kill Masami Niwa, then 55, the president of a real estate company living in Ama, Aichi Prefecture, in 2024. The pair stole Niwa's cash card and later disposed of his body in Lake Biwa.
During the trial, Ichihashi admitted that she had been unable to repay debts accumulated through spending at host clubs and had approached Kato, who was a customer at the establishment where she worked, with a plan to commit robbery and murder.
In its June 16 ruling, the Otsu District Court noted that although the defendants had initially abandoned the crime, they ultimately carried it out over the course of two days and remained fixated on obtaining money.
The court described Ichihashi's actions as "self-centered and deserving of severe condemnation" before handing down a life sentence.
Source: MBS
