A 76-year-old former Japanese municipal assemblyman was sentenced Friday to life in prison by a court in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou for smuggling drugs, his attorney said.

Takuma Sakuragi, a former assemblyman from Inazawa, Aichi Prefecture, was detained by Chinese authorities in October 2013 when he was found to be carrying about 3.3 kilograms (just over 7 pounds) of illegal stimulants in his suitcase.

Disheartened by the Guangzhou Intermediate Court's ruling, Sakuragi intends to appeal it to a higher court within 10 days, his attorney said, adding that his client is determined to "fight to the end."