Mayu Tomita Testifies Against Stalker in Court

| Artist | Posted by Kai Okudara on Feb.24.2017

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Singer-songwriter Mayu Tomita (21), who was viciously attacked outside Event Space Solid in Musashi-Koganei, Tokyo on May 21, 2016, testified against her assailant Tomohiro Iwazaki (28) at Tachikawa District Court on February 23, 2017.

Tomita, who received 34 knife wounds to her face, neck, and chest in the attack, has difficulty eating and speaking, experiences narrowed vision, and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result.

Iwazaki has plead guilty to the crime and it is expected that he will serve a 17-year prison sentence.

The final judgement is scheduled for February 28, 2017.

The Mayu Tomita Stabbing Incident and the Problem of Protecting Stalking Victims in Japan

Hidden behind a curtain, Tomita delivered an emotional plea:

I would think that the people who visited me were coming to kill me and I have not been able to relax due to those feelings of anxiety.
お見舞いに来てくれる人に対しても私を殺しに来たんじゃないかと思いその不安から気が休まることはありませんでした。

The studying at university which I love, the music and stage plays which I love so much, every precious thing that I had been working towards up until now, were snatched away from me in a moment. I want the days where I could spend my time normally returned to me. I want my body without wounds to be returned.

大学で大好きな勉強すること、大好きな音楽やお芝居をすること。今まで大切に積み重ねてきたものや時間のすべてが、一瞬で奪われてしまいました。普通に過ごしていたはずだった毎日を返してほしい。傷のない、元の体を返してほしい。

A person who selfishly embraces such one-sided feelings could kill someone.
一方的に感情を抱き思い通りになければ人を殺そうとする人です。

I cannot even count the things that have been taken away from me by the selfish actions of my attacker.
犯人の身勝手な行動のせいで失ったものは数えきれません。

I think my attacker has not had a single moment of introspection, as I was delivering my statement, he was definitely laughing to himself. It is likely that he will come to kill me next time.
今、私が意見陳述している間も、きっと心の中では笑っていて、反省は一つもしていないと思います。私を恨んで、今度こそ私を殺しに来るかもしれない

The attacker has appeared to kill me in my dreams so I have not been sleeping at all.
犯人が何度も夢に出てきて私を殺しに来るので、ほとんど寝ることもできない

I cannot forgive him as there are so many scars that remain on my body and in my heart.
私だけ心にも体にもこんなに多くの傷が残るのは、悔しいし許せない

He cannot be left to take care of himself.
犯人を野放しにしてはいけない

In order to prevent an incident like this one from ever happening again, to prevent anyone else to suffer like I am, I would like to see a harsh sentence.
今後同じように事件が二度と起こらないように私みたいに苦しむ人がいなくなるように厳しい判決を出していただきたいです。

During Tomita’s testimony, Iwazaki shouted “Then, kill me!” (じゃあ殺せよ) and was heard repeating “It’s not like I was going to kill you” (殺すわけがないだろ), causing the judge to order him to be removed from the courtroom.

The prosecution’s statement:

The accused was merely a fan, someone with underdeveloped people skills, who harbored a one-sided grudge against the victim, leading to him committing the crime. With a strong intent to kill, he planned out the attack, stabbing her 34 times in an extremely selfish act.
被告は単なるファンの１人で、人間関係を築いていない中で、被害者に一方的に恨みを募らせて犯行に及んだ。一定の計画性があり、少なくとも３４回突き刺すなど、殺意は強固で常軌を逸した自己中心的な犯行だ。

The defense’s statement:

The accused, with strong feelings of anger and sadness, went to the venue determined to ask the victim why she had returned the present he had given her. It was not systematic but, an impulsive act. I learned that after the attack, it was the accused that was the one who contacted emergency services.

プレゼントを返されたことで、強い怒りと悲しみを感じ、被害者にその理由を聞いてふんぎりをつけようと現場に向かった。犯行が衝動的で計画的ではないことは、犯行後に被告が１１９番通報していることからも明らかだ

Here are some other reports in Japanese regarding the case.

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Toyo Keizai

While Mayu Tomita may be one of the most-publicized cases of a young woman being attacked by a stalker in recent memory, her pleas for a harsh sentence should not end with the judgement on Iwazaki but, should be a catalyst for revising the anti-stalking laws in Japan to protect anyone else from having to experience the trauma she has experienced and must live with for the rest of her life.