A Japanese district court has sentenced the former head of a kindergarten in central Japan to 16 months in prison over the death of a 3-year-old girl who was left behind in a school bus. She died from acute heat stroke.

On September 5, 2022, Kawamoto China died after being trapped inside the bus for about five hours in a parking lot of Kawasaki Kindergarten in Makinohara City, Shizuoka Prefecture.

Masuda Tatsuyoshi, 74, the former kindergarten principal who had been driving the bus, was charged for his failure to confirm no child was left behind in the bus after children got off.

The girl's former homeroom teacher, Nishihara Ako, 48, was also indicted for failing to contact her family to confirm the girl's whereabouts, as she mistakenly thought that the girl was absent.

Both were charged with professional negligence resulting in death.

The Shizuoka District Court found the two defendants guilty on Thursday.

Presiding Judge Kunii Koshi said former principal Masuda had regularly endangered the lives of many children who used school bus transportation with his lax safety management. The judge called Masuda's conduct highly dangerous and serious, and pinpointed his negligence to fulfill his duty to ensure children's safety as the driver.

The court also handed down a suspended one-year prison term to the former homeroom teacher.

The judge said her failure to fulfill the basic duty to ensure the victim's safety was serious negligence.

In concluding the sentencing, the presiding judge said people must be aware of the importance of protecting children's lives. He said accidents can occur when people forget how precious children's lives are.