44 days of hell - A true to life story of Junko Furuta

Part 13- The Prosecution

Despite the shocking brutality of their crime, the identities of the boys were sealed by the court as they were all considered to be juveniles at the time of the crime.

Journalists from the Shūkan Bunshun (週刊文春) magazine discovered their identities, however, and published them.

They stated that, given the severity of the crime, the accused did not deserve to have their right to anonymity upheld.

All four boys pled guilty to "committing bodily injury that resulted in death", rather than murder.

In July 1990, a lower court sentenced Hiroshi Miyano, the alleged leader of the crime, to 17 years in prison.

He appealed his sentence, but Tokyo High Court judge Ryūji Yanase sentenced him to an additional three years in prison.

The 20-year sentence is the second-highest sentence given in Japan before life imprisonment. He was 18 at the time of the murder.

Miyano's mother reportedly sent Furuta's parents 50 million yen (US$425,000), after selling their family home.

Miyano was denied parole in 2004. In January 2013, Miyano was re-arrested for fraud. Due to insufficient evidence, he was released without charge later that month.

Nobuharu Minato, who originally received a four-to-six-year sentence, was re-sentenced to five-to-nine years by Judge Ryūji Yanase upon appeal.

He was 16 at the time of the murder. Nobuharu's parents and brother were not charged.

Furuta's parents were dismayed by the sentences received by their daughter's killers and won a civil suit against the parents of Nobuharu Minato, in whose home the crimes were committed.

After his release, Minato moved in with his mother. He has not worked since.[citation needed]

 In 2018, Minato was arrested again for attempted murder after beating a 32-year old man with a metal rod and slashing his throat with a knife. 

Yasushi Watanabe, who was originally sentenced to three-to-four years in prison, received an upgraded sentence of five-to-seven years.He was 17 at the time of the murder.

For his participation in the crime, Jō Ogura served eight years in a juvenile prison before he was released in August 1999.

He was 17 at the time of the murder. After his release, he is said to have boasted about his role in the kidnapping, rape and torture of Furuta.

In July 2004, he was arrested for assaulting Takatoshi Isono, an acquaintance he thought his girlfriend may have been involved with. Jō tracked Isono down, beat him, and shoved him into his truck.

He drove him from Adachi to his mother's bar in Misato, where he allegedly beat Isono for four hours. During that time, Ogura repeatedly threatened to kill the man, telling him that he'd killed before and knew how to get away with it.

He was sentenced to seven years in prison for the assault on Isono and has since been released. Ogura's mother allegedly vandalized Furuta's grave, stating that she had ruined her son's life.

 It has also been reported that Ogura had depleted his father's savings, money which was intended to be provided as restitution to Furuta's family, buying and consuming a number of luxury goods.

The sentences were largely regarded as being far too light for the crimes committed, and all four individuals were protected by special provisions applied to individuals 18 years old and younger.

During sentencing, the judge commented that "exceptionally grave and atrocious violence" had been inflicted upon the victim, and that Junko Furuta had been "murdered so brutally at the young age of 17, [that her] soul must be wandering in torment".[citation needed]

 Upon hearing the details of the brutal rape and torture, a spectator in the gallery fainted.[citation needed] Furuta's mother also reportedly had a mental breakdown, which required psychiatric treatment.