A 42-year-old Chinese man has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting multiple elderly men in Japan.
According to reports from local broadcaster Oita Broadcasting System, the incidents took place in Bungo-ono, where the accused, identified as Yang Shufa, had been living and working.
During court proceedings, Yang reportedly admitted he became aware in his twenties that he was attracted to older men.
He later claimed that watching pornography involving elderly gay men in his mid-thirties led him to develop a desire to act on those fantasies.
Yang, who is married in China and has two children, reportedly moved to Japan to earn money for his family and joined his brother and sister-in-law, who operate a farm in Oita Prefecture.
In court, Yang allegedly claimed that Japanese people greeting him politely and smiling at him contributed to his criminal thoughts.
He reportedly targeted elderly men by approaching them either on foot or by car before initiating casual conversations.
Yang then allegedly told victims he was skilled at giving massages before touching their shoulders and eventually sexually assaulting them.
According to testimony presented in court, he admitted attempting similar acts on 14 elderly men, with roughly half of the assaults reportedly succeeding.
The case returned to court on May 19, where the judge described Yang’s actions as extremely serious and disturbing.
The court noted that Yang had allegedly committed additional offences on the very same day after earlier attempts failed.
Although the judge acknowledged that Yang had no previous criminal record and had admitted to the offences, the court ruled that a heavy punishment was still necessary.
Yang was ultimately sentenced to five years and six months behind bars.
