A 24-year-old woman received a suspended prison sentence Tuesday for writing e-mails that incited a man to kill a 21-year-old woman in Osaka last year.
Presiding Judge Yoshitaka Onishi of the Otsu District Court sentenced Ayumi Takemura, a part-time worker, to three years in prison, suspended for four years, for playing a significant role in the murder.
Prosecutors had demanded a four-year prison sentence.
Takemura sent several e-mails to Shinichi Tokumoto, 40, on July 13 just before he killed Monika Yamauchi. In the e-mails sent to Tokumoto, who was hesitating over whether to go through with his murder plan, Takemura said: "I believe it's the right thing to do," and, "This is the only way. I think it's the best way."
Tokumoto, who had relationship problems with his victim, is being tried for murder.
Prosecutors said during the trial that Takemura's motive was a desire to keep 160,000 yen she had borrowed from Tokumoto, who had planned to kill himself after the murder.