MITO –
A 50-year-old lady accused of forcing her housemate to stitch her personal lips shut with a needle and thread admitted all costs at her first courtroom listening to on November eleventh, as prosecutors performed disturbing audio recordings of the threats used to coerce the sufferer throughout an incident in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture, in June 2026.
Masae Sakurai, who faces costs of assault and coercion, had beforehand denied the allegations following her arrest however modified her place on the opening listening to, telling the courtroom, “There is no mistake.”
Sakurai appeared in courtroom carrying red-framed glasses, along with her hair down and partially dyed brown. She confronted ahead and calmly acknowledged the fees as prosecutors outlined the circumstances surrounding the abuse of her 42-year-old housemate.
According to the indictment, Sakurai telephoned the sufferer whereas she was at Sakurai’s residence in June and ordered her to repeatedly pierce her lips with a needle and stitch them collectively utilizing thread.
“Stitch your mouth back and forth. Stop worrying about it and hurry up and sew,” Sakurai allegedly instructed the girl. “If you haven’t finished by the time I get home, I’ll pull the stitches extremely tight.”
Sakurai additionally threatened to inflict larger ache if the sufferer refused to hold out the act herself. “If I do it, it’ll hurt more than when you do it yourself, so much that you won’t be able to speak. You’ll probably do it gently, but if you make me do it, the pain will be twice as bad,” she stated.
Prosecutors performed audio proof obtained from a safety digital camera recording that captured Sakurai aggressively demanding that the sufferer comply.
“Hurry up and do it. Don’t say ‘please.’ I’m telling you to do it,” Sakurai could possibly be heard shouting within the recording performed in courtroom.
The indictment additionally alleges that Sakurai repeatedly slapped the sufferer throughout the face and injured her after she stopped stitching her lips.
The case got here to gentle in June when the sufferer managed to flee from Sakurai’s residence whereas her housemate was distracted and fled to a close-by retailer in Koga.
Unable to talk correctly, the girl sought assist by speaking that she couldn’t speak and asking workers to name the police.
When authorities rescued her, they found that thread had been handed by means of her mouth, with stitching extending from beneath her nostril to beneath her decrease lip.
The sufferer later instructed police that she had been too afraid of Sakurai to flee earlier.
Police stated the 2 girls had begun residing collectively in April 2025 after turning into concerned in a monetary association involving loans.
An acquaintance of Sakurai described their preliminary relationship as one wherein Sakurai supplied shelter to a lady who apparently had no cash or place to dwell, taking up the function of an older sister or protecting determine.
A former colleague stated Sakurai had offered lodging to girls who had run away from residence and had nowhere else to go, helped them discover employment, and obtained cash from these residing along with her.
However, prosecutors described a relationship wherein the sufferer grew to become more and more depending on Sakurai and was subjected to monetary management and degrading remedy.
According to prosecutors, the sufferer handed over her earnings to Sakurai beneath preparations described as reimbursement of money owed and different bills.
When the girl’s earnings grew to become unstable, Sakurai allegedly started withholding meals, invoking the saying, “Those who do not work shall not eat.”
Prosecutors additionally revealed that the ladies had an association beneath which the sufferer would sew her lips when disputes arose between them.
The scenario escalated when Sakurai accused the sufferer of dishonesty, together with over consuming meals in the home with out permission, and criticized her for failing to make progress find employment.
Sakurai allegedly started verbally abusing the girl, accusing her of mendacity and saying, “Let’s sew up that mouth that tells lies.”
The prosecution described the June incident because the fruits of this more and more coercive relationship, with Sakurai threatening to inflict even larger ache until the sufferer stitched her personal lips.
Evidence offered through the listening to additionally revealed the tough circumstances the sufferer allegedly endured throughout their time residing collectively.
In testimony launched by prosecutors, the girl stated she had typically been compelled outdoors in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts throughout wet climate and prevented from returning indoors.
“There were days when I was made to stay outside in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, even in the rain, and wasn’t allowed back inside,” the sufferer stated. “I thought I would die if things continued this way.”
Photographs taken on the grounds of Sakurai’s residence confirmed a lady crouching along with her knees drawn as much as her chest, though it has not been confirmed whether or not the particular person pictured was the sufferer on this case.
Witnesses stated comparable scenes had been noticed even through the center of winter, elevating additional questions in regards to the residing circumstances contained in the family.
The sufferer instructed investigators that she had been afraid of Sakurai all through their time collectively and had been unable to go away due to that concern.
In her testimony, she described the reduction of lastly escaping the scenario. “I have now been able to obtain a life of freedom, and I feel safe,” she stated.
Sakurai’s resolution to confess all costs marked a big reversal from her place following her arrest, when she had denied the allegations.
Legal commentators stated her act of contrition and any demonstration of regret may affect the courtroom’s evaluation of her conduct and probably grow to be one think about figuring out her sentence.
The subsequent courtroom listening to is scheduled for February 2027.