Photo/Illutration A courtroom sketch shows Yudai Funato, who appeared at his first trial hearing in a high-profile child abuse case at the Tokyo District Court on Oct. 1. (The Asahi Shimbun)

The stepfather of a 5-year-old girl subjected to months of physical abuse and neglect admitted he caused her death during the first hearing in the case before lay judges at the Tokyo District Court on Oct. 1.

Yudai Funato told the court that he first realized his daughter Yua's life was in danger around March 1, 2018, the day before her death, not in late February as prosecutors contend.

“Otherwise, it’s all true,” murmured Funato, 34, who is accused of parental neglect resulting in death.

When a photo of Yua’s corpse was displayed on a monitor at the defense lawyer’s table, Funato covered his mouth with a handkerchief and averted his eyes.

Yua's biological mother, Yuri Funato, 27, was handed an eight-year prison term by lay judges at the Tokyo District Court on Sept. 17 for her role in her daughter's death. She is appealing the sentence to a higher court.

Funato married Yuri in April 2016 when he lived in Kagawa Prefecture, according to the opening statement by prosecutors.

He adopted Yuri’s daughter Yua, and the family started a new life.

But around January 2018, after the family moved to Tokyo's Meguro Ward, Funato put Yua on a near-starvation diet. He also forced her to awake around 4 a.m. and study. When Yua didn't do exactly as she was told, Funato showered her with cold water and beat her, sometimes savagely.

Funato realized that Yua had become extremely weak in late February of that year, but he did not take her to a hospital, resulting in her death from septicemia on March 2, prosecutors said.

Yua’s body had injuries and bruising in 170 or so locations.

Defense lawyers asserted that their client had a compulsive desire to stop people from criticizing Yua simply because he was not her biological father.

Funato imposed his “ideal child image” on Yua, and for this reason treated her harshly and abused her, the defense team said.

Prosecutors contend the abuse escalated from around the time Funato fathered a son with Yuri. The defense team disputed this assertion.

Funato also stands accused of punching his daughter in the face repeatedly and violating the Cannabis Control Law after 2.4 grams of marijuana were found at his home.