Mar 20 (Japan Times) - A 44-year-old man was sentenced on Monday to life in prison for the murders of two women at his apartment in Kitakyushu.
The Fukuoka District Court's Kokura branch handed down the ruling to Kenji Mihara for killing acquaintances Hiroe Saiki, 45, and Kimiko Mizutani, who was in her 40s, matching the sentence demanded by prosecutors.
Presiding Judge Shinichi Suzushima said Mihara "lost his temper over trivial matters and killed the two" by stabbing them "with a strong intent to kill."
Defense lawyers had argued during the trial that Mihara, who has a history of abusing stimulants, was in an abnormal mental state when he committed the crime, but the judge ruled that the influence of drugs was limited.
