The Nagasaki District Court sentenced a 39-year-old man Tuesday to a suspended eight-month prison term for sending threatening letters containing razor blades to the Chinese consulates in Nagasaki and Osaka in April after anti-Japan rallies in China.
Judge Yoshiki Ogawa said that although the man, Mitsuhiro Naito, acted on a grudge against the Chinese government and his criminal responsibility is not light, "he regrets what he has done."
Naito is an unemployed resident of Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture.
According to the court, which suspended the sentence for three years, Naito sent letters that said "Anti-Japan Communist China will die," to the consulates in April.
Prosecutors pressed for severe punishment because he may have caused further deterioration in bilateral ties.