 On October 12, 2002, the Tokyo High Court judge sentenced Satō to 11 years, reducing the initial sentence.Both the prosecution and the defense appealed on December 24, 2002, and the case moved to the Supreme Court of Japan on December 10, 2002.On July 10, 2003, the Supreme Court judge accepted the prosecution's arguments, with the result that Satō is currently serving a 14-year prison sentence.