A court sentenced the former head of a parents' group at an elementary school in Chiba Prefecture to life in prison Friday over the 2017 murder of a 9-year-old Vietnamese girl who attended the school.
While Yasumasa Shibuya has denied involvement in the death of Le Thi Nhat Linh, prosecutors had sought the death penalty for the 47-year-old neighbor and father of two.
"The shock and worry (the defendant) brought upon society and school education is unimaginable," Presiding Judge Toshiro Nohara said in handing down the ruling.