A 16-year prison term is notably longer than the roughly 10-year sentences handed down by Japanese courts in most fatal child abuse cases in the past.

Mia was found dead in January last year in the bathroom at her family home in Noda City, Chiba Prefecture. Kurihara is accused of forcing Mia to stand under a cold shower before her death.

In the trial that opened last month, Kurihara said he does not deny the charge of bodily injury resulting in death.

But he rejected accusations by the prosecutors on many other points. He denied most parts of the alleged physical abuse and denied abusing his daughter daily.

Prosecutors had demanded an 18-year prison term. They said Kurihara's crimes were monstrous and that the abuse was both psychological and physical and went on for an overwhelming duration.

Defense lawyers said Kurihara went too far with his disciplinary actions but he did not abuse Mia on a daily basis. They said Kurihara has already been punished socially.

In handing down the ruling on Thursday, presiding judge Iwao Maeda said Kurihara's argument was unnatural and lacked objective coherence. He said Kurihara is cherry-picking favorable facts and cannot be trusted.

The judge said what the defendant did was appalling and loathsome. He said Kurihara caused the death of his daughter through his intermittent abuse.