Japanese court sentences South Korean man to 20 years for stalking and killing ex-girlfriend in Tokyo
Quick Look
- A Tokyo court sentenced a 31-year-old South Korean man to 20 years in prison without labor for stalking and fatally stabbing his 40-year-old ex-girlfriend in Setagaya Ward on September 1, 2025, after she ended their relationship.
- The ruling marks Japan's first penal reform since 1907, applying the new imprisonment without labor provision under the revised Penal Code effective June 2025.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The couple met in 2024 via a Japanese-language learning app while the man lived in South Korea and the woman in Japan. They began a long-distance relationship before the man traveled to Japan nine days prior to the killing. The victim reported the man to police after he began stalking her, leading to a restraining order.
A Japanese court has sentenced a 31-year-old South Korean man to 20 years in prison for stalking and killing a Korean woman he was dating in Tokyo, news reports said Sunday.
The Tokyo District Court handed down the ruling Friday after finding him guilty of murder and violating Japan's anti-stalking law. The sentence takes the form of imprisonment without labor, a custodial punishment introduced under the revised Penal Code that took effect in June 2025. It marked the country's first penal reform since 1907.
"The defendant, unwilling to accept the victim's decision to end their relationship, brutally killed her with a knife after waiting for her for hours. The fear and despair she must have felt are beyond imagination," the court said.
The man, surnamed Park, allegedly stabbed his 40-year-old ex-girlfriend to death in a residential area of Tokyo's Setagaya Ward around 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 1, 2025.
The two first met in 2024 through a Japanese-language learning app, when Park was living in South Korea and the woman in Japan. They later began a long-distance relationship, according to news reports.
Investigators found that Park traveled to Japan nine days before the killing to visit his girlfriend, who told him during the trip that she wanted to break up with him. Unable to accept the breakup, he began stalking her, visiting her home more than 10 times and making dozens of calls and sending messages.
After the woman reported him to the police, authorities issued a restraining order against Park. He, however, falsely told police he would return to Korea before he went to the area near her workplace and fatally stabbed her on the street.
He was arrested by local police at Haneda Airport the day after the murder.
What to Watch
AI outlook โ possibilities, not facts
The defendant may appeal the 20-year sentence to a higher court.
Possible ยท Within months
Open Questions
- What was the exact nature of the restraining order issued against the defendant?
- Did the defendant have any prior history of stalking or violence?
- What specific provisions of Japan's revised Penal Code were applied in this case?
