The appeal hearing in the case of a former nursery teacher convicted of slashing a 2-year-old boy's neck with a utility knife at a certified nursery school in Kagoshima closed on Nov. 5 at the Fukuoka High Court's Miyazaki branch, with a ruling set for Dec. 3.
Natsuki Sasayama, 24, a former nursery teacher from Nishimoto, Chiran-cho, Minamikyushu, is charged with attempted murder and assault. The Kagoshima District Court sentenced her to 10 years in prison in July, and she appealed the same day.
According to the judgment and other records, Sasayama cut the boy's neck with a utility knife at the certified nursery school — a daycare center recognized under a national accreditation system — where she worked in Kagoshima in June 2024. The boy's injuries were said to take a month to heal.
Intent at issue again
Whether Sasayama intended to kill the boy was the main point of dispute at the first trial. The district court found that she did and handed down the 10-year prison term.
At the Nov. 5 hearing, the defense argued that the lower court's finding of intent left reasonable doubt, and that a 10-year sentence is unjustly heavy. Prosecutors sought to have the appeal dismissed.
Sasayama was questioned by the defense. Asked how she felt about the victim, she looked straight ahead and said, "I have done something that an apology cannot cover."
The hearing closed the same day. The Miyazaki branch will decide whether to uphold or overturn the district court's ruling.