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Kenichi Takano handed his entire life savings to a 22-year-old streamer.
When it ran out, she asked him to start taking out loans.
A Tokyo court just sentenced him to 16 years for stabbing her 55 times — while 6,000 people watched her livestream.
Here's the story the trial revealed.
Takano, a 44-year-old from Tochigi, found Airi Sato's streams in December 2021 and became a devoted fan.
According to court testimony, her cash requests started almost immediately after they met in person — a forgotten bag here, expensive champagne she was "forced" to buy there.
Within three weeks, he had loaned her 1.5 million yen across 11 separate transfers.
Between the loans, the tips, and visits to the hostess bar where she worked, his entire life savings — about $30,000 — was gone.
Then, testimony revealed, she asked him to borrow FOR her — telling him she needed an apartment and sending images suggesting she had cancer.
Unemployed, he took out loans from two consumer lenders and wired her the money.
When he begged for repayment — "Help me. Help me. I'm going to get sued." — she replied: "Eh, impossible."
He sued her in civil court. He won. He seized her bank account.
It held 160 yen. About one US dollar.
In March 2025, he tracked her location through her livestream, found her on a Tokyo street, and killed her on camera.
The judge called the attack brutal — but said the court weighed his belief that he'd been defrauded.
Prosecutors wanted 20 years. The defense asked for 9. He got 16.
When it ran out, she asked him to start taking out loans.
A Tokyo court just sentenced him to 16 years for stabbing her 55 times — while 6,000 people watched her livestream.
Here's the story the trial revealed.
Takano, a 44-year-old from Tochigi, found Airi Sato's streams in December 2021 and became a devoted fan.
According to court testimony, her cash requests started almost immediately after they met in person — a forgotten bag here, expensive champagne she was "forced" to buy there.
Within three weeks, he had loaned her 1.5 million yen across 11 separate transfers.
Between the loans, the tips, and visits to the hostess bar where she worked, his entire life savings — about $30,000 — was gone.
Then, testimony revealed, she asked him to borrow FOR her — telling him she needed an apartment and sending images suggesting she had cancer.
Unemployed, he took out loans from two consumer lenders and wired her the money.
When he begged for repayment — "Help me. Help me. I'm going to get sued." — she replied: "Eh, impossible."
He sued her in civil court. He won. He seized her bank account.
It held 160 yen. About one US dollar.
In March 2025, he tracked her location through her livestream, found her on a Tokyo street, and killed her on camera.
The judge called the attack brutal — but said the court weighed his belief that he'd been defrauded.
Prosecutors wanted 20 years. The defense asked for 9. He got 16.
