The Yamaguchi Family Court on Thursday decided to send to a juvenile reformatory a 17-year-old boy who allegedly beat his 50-year-old mother to death in July, the boy's lawyers said.
Judge Toshiro Wajiki said in his decision it is necessary to rehabilitate the boy because he had no history of criminal behavior before the incident and because any personality problems derive from his family environment, the lawyers said.
He was arrested July 31 after making an emergency call to police telling them he had killed his mother.
The boy told the court that he beat his mother with a baseball bat after arguing with her over her taking and spending money he had saved from his paper route without asking, his lawyers said.
The boy had been living alone with his mother and delivering newspapers since graduating from junior high, they said.
In response to the decision to send him to a reformatory, the boy answered "I understand," the lawyers said.
Prosecutors sent the case to family court in August and asked that the boy be made to stand criminal trial as an adult.
Thursday's hearing was conducted behind closed doors, in accordance with the Juvenile Law, and the boy was accompanied by three lawyers and his uncle.
The lawyers said the boy had come to regret his act, though he had complained about his mother and the family environment earlier.
The boy allegedly killed his mother on July 29.