Prosecutors demanded on Tuesday a six-year prison term for actor Manabu Oshio, who is on trial for allegedly failing to call for medical help when a woman became seriously ill and died after taking the illegal drug MDMA, often known as Ecstasy, with him in August 2009.
Speaking in defense of the 32-year-old actor — the first celebrity to be tried under the lay judge system — Oshio's lawyers stated he is not guilty because he performed first-aid measures and tried to save 30-year-old Kaori Tanaka's life.
"I swear that I did not abandon Ms. Tanaka. I'm not that kind of person," Oshio told the Tokyo District Court after he was given the opportunity to make a final statement before the trial closed.