Part 1 – Nakano Tower Apartment Killing: Woman Who Stabbed Her Partner Pleads Not Guilty as Court Reveals Her Other Face

“I did not stab him with the scissors.”

The first trial hearing for Satō Kotomi (26), charged with causing the death of her partner, a certified public accountant referred to as A, by stabbing him in the neck with a pair of scissors inside a unit of a high-rise condominium in Nakano Ward, Tokyo, was held on November 7. The defendant questioning followed on November 12 at the Tokyo District Court.

At the initial hearing, Satō tearfully stated:

“I did not stab him with the scissors.”

Satō entered the courtroom wearing a black pant-suit and thick-lensed glasses. The tears welling behind the lenses looked ready to spill. Her breathing was unsteady, likely from nerves. When her lawyer gently said, “Are you okay? Calm down,” she nodded quietly and took her seat.

According to the indictment, on September 16, 2024, Satō allegedly stabbed A, with whom she was in a relationship at the time, in the left side of his neck with scissors, resulting in his death. When asked about the charges, she denied them in a trembling voice:

“I did not stab him with the scissors.”

She then added:

“However, it is true that the scissors I had taken out ended up stabbing him and causing his death. I am deeply sorry to his family and friends.”

She bowed her head deeply in apology.

A reporter from a national newspaper’s social affairs desk explained:

“On the day of the incident, after stabbing A with the scissors, Satō called 119 and summoned an ambulance. During that time, she performed chest compressions on him. When police arrived, she was arrested on the spot on suspicion of attempted murder. A was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

At the time of her arrest, she reportedly said something along the lines of, ‘I brought out the scissors to make him listen, and when I swung them, they ended up stabbing him.’ However, at the initial hearing, she pleaded not guilty.”

During the trial, the story of how the two met was revealed, along with another side of Satō that she had kept hidden from A.

Following the statement read aloud by prosecutors, the sequence of events was described:

Satō and A met in January 2024 through a dating app, and began a relationship in February. A suffered from alopecia and usually wore a wig. After he confided this to Satō and she accepted it, their relationship deepened.

Beginning in May, they started living together along with Satō’s dog. At one point, Satō tried to end the relationship due to A’s alopecia, but continued dating him after his persuasion. From then on, the balance of power in the relationship shifted, with Satō taking the upper hand.

Although they argued at times, the relationship was generally smooth, and they even discussed marriage and their future. They adopted a second dog, and in July, they moved into the high-rise condominium where the incident later occurred.

“I’ll upload the photo without your wig to Instagram.”

However, the relationship between the two—who had been looking toward the future and walking toward marriage—took a dark turn because of a trivial argument.

On the day of the incident, September 16th, which was a holiday, the two went to Mr. A’s workplace in Hibiya to pick up some work materials. On their way back, an argument broke out. In response to Mr. A, who was in a bad mood, the defendant Sato said:

〈“I’ll upload the photo without your wig (editor’s note: a photo showing Mr. A without his wig) to Instagram.”〉

This enraged Mr. A. Even after returning home, his anger did not subside. When Sato asked him to sit on the sofa and he refused, she took out a pair of scissors. As Mr. A grabbed both of Sato’s hands, a struggle ensued, and the scissors stabbed Mr. A in the neck.

In the defense’s opening statement, it was revealed that Sato had another side she had kept secret from Mr. A.

After graduating from a technical college in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Sato moved to Tokyo in 2019 for work. She quit after one year and began attending a prep school to enter university, but switched to remote classes during the pandemic and eventually gave up on university. It was then that she began frequenting host clubs.

However, she soon became unable to pay the bills she owed the hosts, and began working in the delivery health industry to repay her debts. It was amid this turbulent lifestyle that she met Mr. A through a matching app. The defense introduced affectionate LINE exchanges between them and emphasized that despite occasional arguments, the two were in love.

The prosecution argues that she intentionally swung the scissors downward, while the defense claims the scissors pierced him accidentally during the struggle. This is the main point of contention in the trial.

During the defendant questioning on November 12th, Sato denied her earlier police statement saying she had raised the scissors, claiming:

“It is not true.”

The second part will cover Sato’s current feelings toward Mr. A as described during questioning, and the basis of her claim of innocence.