The stepfather of 5-year-old Yua Funato admitted to assault and neglect leading to her death last year during the first hearing in the case at the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday.
Yudai Funato, 34, was indicted over the fatal abuse of his stepdaughter Yua, who was assaulted and deprived of food in Tokyo's Meguro Ward from around late January last year, leading to her death in March that year due to sepsis after the onset of pneumonia.
Funato also faces charges of possessing marijuana and physically assaulting the girl, which will also be heard at the Tokyo District Court.