Man hired by divorce-seeking husband to seduce wife gets 15 years for her murder

(Mainichi Japan) March 10, 2010

A private detective hired by a divorce-seeking husband to seduce his wife has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for strangling the woman.

Prosecutors demanded 17 years' imprisonment for Takeshi Kuwahara, 31, an employee of a private detective agency at the time of the crime, accusing him of murdering Rie Isohata, 32, on April 12, 2009, after the victim found out that her husband and Kuwahara had worked together to plot her divorce.

Kuwahara was allegedly hired by the victim's husband, who was seeking a divorce from the woman, as a "couple buster" in 2007. He falsified his identity and seduced the woman to encourage her to divorce her husband. Their relationship continued after the woman divorced her husband, however, after she found out that Kuwahara had a wife and children and that she was set up by the two men, the victim became enraged. Kuwahara reportedly strangled the woman during an argument.

"The defendant cannot escape blame for his immoral action," said Presiding Judge Yoshimitsu Goda during the ruling at the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday. "His motive was shortsighted and selfish," he added.

The victim's 61-year-old father said the sentence was too lenient. "Fifteen years is too short, and I can never forgive him. The couple busting business represents the social distortions of today. There should be regulations to control it."

Currently, there are no regulations to control such businesses in the country, but some 380 member agencies of the Nihon Chosa-gyo Kyokai (Japan Association of Detective Agencies) nationwide have self-imposed rules banning any activities that disrupts marriages, according to the organization. The employer of Kuwahara, however, did not belong to the association.

From; http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20100310p2a00m0na006000c.html