Bullied and disowned by his father… Surprising profile of the defendant in the “Tor Yoko lynching and murder” case.

What was revealed at the trial was the details of the spectacular group lynching of the victims.

The victim was beaten for nearly seven hours and suffered 38 broken ribs. He was kicked more than 40 times with wooden shoes and suffered internal bleeding all over his body. …… The victim was left in a state of ravage and died of shock.

On October 7, at a jury trial held at the Tokyo District Court (presided over by Kiichi Hiraide), defendant Hisaki Sekiguchi, 27, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The defendant was charged with manslaughter for assaulting and killing Akira Ujiie, then 43, an unemployed man, on the roof of a building in Kabukicho, Tokyo, by a group of people. Judge Hiraide declared, “This is one of the most vicious and cruel cases of manslaughter.

The incident occurred in November of last year. Sekiguchi and Ujiie were based in the area next to the TOHO Cinemas in Kabukicho, known as ‘To-Yoko. About a month before the incident, Mr. Ujiie got into trouble with the Kisarazu Group, which had expanded into Kabukicho from Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture. The boys from the Kisarazu Group assaulted Ujiie and injured him so badly that he had to be hospitalized.

The “Kisarazu Group” continued to search for Mr. Ujiie to assault him even after he was discharged from the hospital. On November 27 of last year, they detained Mr. Ujiie in Kabukicho. Mr. Ujiie contacted defendant Sekiguchi, who was a member of the same “Toyoko” volunteer group and a good friend of his, and asked for help. But instead of rescuing Mr. Ujiie, Sekiguchi joined with the boys and violently assaulted him.

The relationship with the “brothers” was a key point.

Why did Sekiguchi betray his friend Ujiie? Sekiguchi said at the trial, “At first, I intended to help him.

At first, I intended to help him, but I gradually became annoyed with his behavior and assaulted him.

I did not seriously assault him. I was holding back. But I thought that if I didn’t show my accomplices (the boys), whom I had called ‘brothers,’ that I was really angry with them, the relationship would deteriorate.”

However, according to the boy who appeared in court as a guard, “It didn’t look like he was cutting corners. Even when I said to him, ‘This is not good,’ he didn’t seem bothered by it and continued to beat Ujiie.

Sekiguchi revealed a maniacal personality. What was revealed in court was an unexpected side to him.

He was shy and had difficulty communicating with others since elementary school. In high school, he was bullied severely. He was forced to transfer to a correspondence high school because his classmates pressed cigarette butts against his skin and beat him. He did not last long in his job and had a bad relationship with his parents and children. I heard that he was disowned by his father, lost his place, and drifted to ‘Toyoko'” (a former reporter).

Sekiguchi’s father testified in court.

“I knew the pain of being assaulted by a group of people, but it’s shameful ……. I think I found the wrong place to stay.”

In court, Sekiguchi apologized, saying, “I am sorry to Akira (Ujiie) and the bereaved family. If he felt sorry, he should have saved Mr. Ujiie from a horrific mass lynching.