The Akita District Court handed prison terms Tuesday to two men convicted of murdering a suicidal woman who paid them to kill her.
Underworld figure Tateshi Fujimori, 42, was given a six-year sentence for killing 49-year-old housewife Keiko Yamazaki at her request in June 1997, while 28-year-old office worker Shinichi Tanikawa was handed a 3 1/2-year stretch.
The pair pushed Yamazaki into a lake in Tazawako, Akita Prefecture, where she subsequently drowned, according to the court.
Presiding Judge Makoto Tamura described the crime as a "most malicious" affair in which the killers took "advantage of the victim's wish to kill herself."
Prosecutors had demanded a seven-year term for Fujimori and a five-year sentence for Tanikawa.
Yamazaki, who hailed from the city of Akita, paid 2 million yen for the killing, of which Fujimori received 700,000 yen and Tanikawa 300,000 yen.
A third man allegedly involved in the case, 36-year-old Noboru Tokuhara, received 1 million yen, according to the court. Tokuhara, who is believed to have played a key role in the crime, has been charged with murder and is still on trial.