Crime & Courts

Man Gets Death Penalty for Quadruple Murder in Nagano

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The scene surrounding the house, top left, where the suspect barricaded himself during the incident in which four people were killed, photographed from a Yomiuri helicopter in May 2023 in Nakano, Nagano Prefecture.

Jiji Press

17:47 JST, October 14, 2025

Nagano, Oct. 14 (Jiji Press)—Nagano District Court on Tuesday sentenced Masanori Aoki, 34, to death for the May 2023 murders of four people in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan.

Giving the defendant capital punishment as requested by prosecutors, Presiding Judge Masashi Sakata said, “It was an extremely cruel crime based on a strong intent to kill.”

In the lay judge trial, the biggest focus was whether the suspect could be held criminally responsible.

The prosecution had asserted that Aoki was fully competent, describing the case as “uniquely vicious.” Meanwhile, the defense claimed that the death sentence should be avoided due to his diminished capacity.

On the evening of May 25, 2023, Aoki fatally stabbed two local women Yasuko Takeuchi, 70, and Yukie Murakami, 66, with a knife while they were walking in the city of Nakano, according to the ruling.

He also killed two police officers Yoshiki Tamai, 46, and Takuo Ikeuchi, 61, who had gone to the scene in response to an emergency call, with a knife and a hunting gun.