A 23-year-old Chiba University medical student was sentenced to four years in prison Monday for his role in the gang rape of a woman during and after a party in September last year.

The Chiba District Court ruled that Masaya Yoshimoto, the last of four defendants from the university to be tried in connection with the incident, "bears the heaviest criminal responsibility among those involved."

Presiding Judge Hideo Nirei said Yoshimoto sexually assaulted the victim, who had become incapacitated after getting drunk, and incited another medical student to commit rape, adding, "The victim seeks severe punishment after sustaining great psychological pain."