TOKYO, 10 November 2026 (The Capital Post) – A 33-year-old woman in Japan was convicted of stalking her former boyfriend after repeatedly liking his posts on social media platform X despite being subject to a restraining order, Kyodo News reported.
The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday sentenced Serina Saito to six months in prison, suspended for three years, after finding her guilty of violating the restraining order.
The prosecution had sought a six-month prison sentence for Saito, who had previously been fined 200,000 yen (approximately US$1,300) for stalking the same individual.
Presiding Judge Yoshihiro Hayashi described her actions as obsessive and deserving of strong criticism, noting that the latest offence occurred just a week after she had been fined for an earlier stalking incident.
However, the court decided to suspend the sentence after Saito expressed remorse and promised to delete the X application from her device.
According to the court’s findings, Saito liked a post published by her former boyfriend 14 times and reposted it once on 3 June, in violation of the restraining order previously issued against her.
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The case originated from an earlier incident on 14 February, when Saito allegedly sent repeated messages to her former partner through the Line messaging application after he ended their relationship.
She was subsequently arrested and issued a restraining order on 3 March. Following legal proceedings, she was fined 200,000 yen on 27 May before being released.
Despite the earlier penalty, Saito continued interacting with her former partner’s social media account, leading to the latest prosecution and conviction.
The case involved repeated social media interactions carried out in breach of an existing restraining order, rather than ordinary use of the platform’s like function.– The Capital Post
