A district court on Wednesday sentenced a woman to 3½ years in prison for causing the deaths of her two toddlers from heat exposure after abandoning them in a car in July in Kanagawa Prefecture.
In handing down the ruling on Reina Nagasawa, 22, Presiding Judge Noburo Kiyama said the case was "heart-wrenching" as the mother left her 1-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter in a scorching hot vehicle for more than two hours and 40 minutes so she could spend time with her date.
Prosecutors had demanded an eight-year sentence, claiming the mother's actions were malicious. Nagasawa's defense team sought a three-year term, arguing that she had planned to return after a short time.
Kiyama of the Yokohama District Court's Odawara branch said Nagasawa should be accused of prioritizing her partner but also noted that she had usually cared about her children and the car's air conditioner did not function even though it was turned on.
He said what was ultimately behind the incident was the mother's "immaturity."
According to the ruling, Nagasawa's son, Koga, and her daughter, Hina, were left in a car on July 29 last year in Atsugi. Koga died the same day, and Hina died on Aug. 2. Nagasawa was indicted for abandoning her responsibility as a parent, which led to the death of the children.