Around the Music Festival

On October 29, the Tokyo District Court handed down a guilty verdict to pianist Kyohei Sorita, sentencing him to three months of imprisonment, suspended for two years. The defendant had been charged with violating the Road Traffic Act for driving at 144 km/h—84 km/h over the 60 km/h speed limit—on the Metropolitan Expressway in Meguro Ward, Tokyo, last December.

Defendant Sorita placed second in the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition—tying the highest-ever ranking achieved by a Japanese pianist—and has also organized his own orchestra, through which he engages in conducting.

Following the first court hearing, he stated on his personal website: “I offer my deepest, most sincere apologies for the fact that my own thoughtless actions have caused significant trouble and concern for everyone, and have severely damaged the expectations and trust that had been placed in me.”

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