A Japanese kickboxer murdered a kindergarten teacher and attempted to conceal the body, resulting in a 21-year prison sentence.
On 22 March 2026, Renma Sato, a 22-year-old kickboxer, was charged at the Sendai District Court with murder and other offenses. Prosecutors stated he stabbed Yuka Yukishi, a 35-year-old kindergarten teacher, on a beach in Iwanuma city, then abandoned her body there. Sato confessed to these charges on the first day of the trial.
- Origin of the conflict
The two met through a dating application. Prosecutors said Sato had borrowed more than one million yen from Yukishi. In court, prosecutors explained that upon learning Yukishi was pregnant, Sato became upset and planned the murder. The defense argued that Sato acted after Yukishi threatened to report her pregnancy to his kickboxing gym.
- Incident details
The court found that Sato committed the crime between 19:40 and 20:45 on 12 April 2025. Yukishi's body was found the next morning by a man walking on the beach. She was fully clothed and had multiple stab wounds to her chest and other parts of her body.
Yukishi lived with her child, who was in elementary school. She left her home in Sendai on the night of 12 April and went missing. Her family later reported her as a missing person.
- Investigation and arrest
Police identified Sato from CCTV footage showing his car near the beach around the time he is believed to have dumped the body. Additionally, Sato's phone records showed calls between him and Yukishi, including an incoming call from her before she left home. Police also found Yukishi's wallet in Sato's house.
- Court verdict
In the trial, the court ruled that Renma Sato was guilty of murder and abandoning a corpse, sentencing him to 21 years in prison.
Photo credit: beyond kickboxing