The Yokohama District Court sentenced former professional baseball player Hayato Mishima to 16 years in prison on Oct. 24, convicting him of sexual assault, physical abuse, and threats against women. The 44-year-old defendant, who played under the registration name Hayato Doue during his career with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, faced charges following a jury trial where prosecutors had sought an 18-year sentence.
Yokohama Court Rejects Mitigation Pleas After Jury Trial
Presiding Takao Sato delivered the 16-year prison term after rejecting defense arguments for leniency. The defense had cited Mishima’s commitment to therapy and compensation agreements reached with some of the victims. However, the court ruled that the crimes stemmed from selfish desires, leaving no grounds for reduced punishment.
During the Oct. 1 court hearings, Mishima testified that he viewed all women as enemies at the time of the offenses and wanted to commit acts that would anger them. He attributed his actions to personal stress stemming from a failed marriage and his inability to see his daughter. While he admitted to most of the charges, he contested accusations involving three of the victims.
Prosecutors characterized the defendant’s actions as systematic repeat offenses of an exceptionally grave nature. Court records highlighted that Mishima had previously served two prison sentences for similar sexual offenses before committing this latest string of crimes.
A Five-Year Timeline of Offenses Across Yokohama
According to the court’s findings, Mishima carried out the attacks between August 2020 and June 2025 throughout Yokohama. The victims ranged in age from teenagers to their early twenties, and none of them knew the attacker. Investigators established that Mishima routinely drove around the city looking for women who fit specific criteria before approaching them.
The frequency of the assaults escalated sharply during a four-month window in 2025, when Mishima committed nine distinct offenses between February and June. Among those incidents was an attack in February 2025, where he sexually assaulted a high school freshman on a public street and filmed the act. On June 6, 2025, he confronted a 24-year-old woman, detained her, sexually harassed her, and shoved her to the ground. That fall caused knee injuries requiring approximately 11 days of medical treatment.
Many of the victims continue to suffer from long-lasting psychological trauma, according to reports from Fuji News. One college student targeted in the filmed assaults was forced to relocate. Several victims wept during court proceedings, with some expressing a desire that the defendant never return to society.
From Professional Catcher to Repeat Offender
Born in 1982, Mishima enjoyed a brief professional baseball career before his legal troubles began. Selected by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the fifth round of the 2008 amateur draft, he joined the team’s top roster in 2009 after playing college and semi-professional ball.
Data from the Japanese Baseball Organization shows that Doue made eight appearances in top-tier professional games across the 2010 and 2011 seasons, recording two hits and a .250 batting average. His athletic career ended abruptly in 2012 when police arrested him on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman. The SoftBank Hawks terminated his contract immediately, and a court sentenced him to two years in prison in January 2013.
Following his release from that initial prison term, Mishima committed further offenses, leading to subsequent convictions. The Oct. 24 ruling marks his third conviction for sexual offenses, bringing a definitive end to a pattern of recidivism that persisted despite prior incarceration.
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