Daughter-in-law of long-established sushi restaurant ends the history of the restaurant and pays the price for it.

The defendant refused to pick up a woman and took her into an alley and committed an indecent act.

On November 18, the Tokyo District Court heard the trial of Hideaki Yamagata (38), a former owner of a long-established sushi restaurant, who was accused of sexual assault against a woman who refused his advances.

According to the indictment, on the night of May 10, 2012, after the sushi restaurant closed for the night, the defendant drank alcohol at another restaurant. He also wanted to have another drink, so he walked along the streets of Chuo Ward looking for women to pick up. He asked a woman passing by, “Would you like a drink? He asked a woman on the street in Chuo Ward, but she refused. But when she refused, he put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her. When the woman refused, he put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her. He then took her into an alley and engaged in an indecent act with her.

The defendant was the fifth-generation owner of the long-established sushi restaurant “Miyako Sushi” (Chuo-ku, Tokyo), which was established in 1887. He came to Tokyo to become a sushi chef, worked diligently at the restaurant for nearly 20 years, and married the daughter of the previous owner, who was his daughter-in-law. The restaurant was a long-established popular restaurant loved by locals and featured on TV and in magazines. The predecessor passed away suddenly in 2010, and Yamagata became the fifth generation and also served as the director of the restaurant.

The defendant appeared in court with a clean-cut haircut with the sides trimmed, as if he was a former sushi chef. Wearing a mask, he looked down with a somber expression on his face. He testified, “I was under pressure 365 days a year. But this was not his first offense.

After his arrest, it was discovered that he had indecently assaulted a woman in her thirties on a street in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, also in 2002. The DNA type left at the crime scene in this case matched the remains from the ’14 incident. This led to his arrest over 10 years later on suspicion of attempted rape.

Even after Yamagata’s arrest, the previous proprietress and the defendant’s wife ran the restaurant and kept it open. However, due in part to the re-arrest, the history of the restaurant came to an end on August 10.

At the time of the incident, the defendant had a wife and children, but the previous proprietress made divorce a condition for the wife and children to live at her parents’ house in Tokyo. The defendant and his wife agreed to divorce for the sake of their children. At the trial in October, his ex-wife appeared as a witness.

Ex-wife expresses her intention to support her husband

‘Something similar happened to me 10 years ago, and I was so frustrated and sad that I didn’t notice any changes in my husband over those 10 years. I never want to feel this way again.”

Although divorced, the ex-wife tearfully pleaded the above words and vowed to support defendant Yamagata. At her words, defendant Yamagata could only nod his head, but the ring was still on his left ring finger.

During the defendant’s questioning, in front of his ex-wife, defendant Yamagata,

I couldn’t suppress my sexual desire and got horny.”

He was so horny that he could not suppress his sexual desire,” he said. The ex-wife was not happy to hear this, but this was not the only reason for the severity of the crime. The prosecution read out the victim’s statement of opinion, in which she described her feelings,

I became afraid to walk alone. Sometimes I cry at night without knowing why. If I could, I would like to erase the perpetrator from my memory.

I wish I could erase the culprit from my memory,” she said, expressing her grief.

Incidentally, a settlement has already been reached between Yamagata and the victim, with a settlement of 2 million yen for the victim of the incident 10 years ago and 6 million yen for the current victim. For the woman in the current case, the defendant promised to pay 6 million yen and to stay out of the 23 wards of Tokyo for five years after the verdict. Even in light of this, the prosecutors said,

The victim’s sexual freedom was severely impaired. The victim was afraid to walk alone at night, and she needs to be punished severely.

The prosecution sought five years in prison on the grounds that “no matter how much the woman pays, she will be punished. No matter the price, the crime of injuring a woman’s dignity cannot be forgiven.