Roughly speaking The Tokyo District Court held the first sentencing hearing on July 3rd in the case of the murder of a married couple in Nasu Town, Tochigi. Defendant Hikaru Sasaki, who acted as an instructor, and Defendant Ayaken Hirayama, who acted as intermediary, were each sentenced to 30 years in prison. The presiding judge rejected a request for life imprisonment for both defendants, stating that they were "neither the initiators nor the masterminds." Read article