Writer Nakajima Ramo (51) was given a suspended 10-month sentence at the Osaka District Court for marijuana possession. The judge focused on the fact that Nakajima’s actions have influence on his readers, but conceded that he had promised to regain their confidence with his work. The author was characteristically blase after the trial, saying that marijuana is a “peaceful drug, like tea or coffee” and giving the judge 85 marks out of 100. The media asked whether he was showing the requisite “hansei,” or remorse that plaintiffs in Japan are expected to display. Nakajima won the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for new writers with his novel “Tonight, in Every Bar” and he has often written about his addiction to alcohol and drugs.