Japan, Junior High School Students Commit Shocking Murder

Japanese society is shocked by a series of murder cases committed by junior high school students one after another. As teenagers under 14, who are not the subject to criminal charge conduct crimes as if they are playing without any guilt, it has become a serious social problem.

Police in Nagasaki City was under investigation yesterday on a 4 year-old child murder case having 12 year-old 1st grade middle school boy as the highly probable offender. Many of major newspapers reported the case in the top front page or the social column as headlines yesterday.

The 4 yea-old missing child disappeared from an arcade in an electronics shopping mall in Nagasaki downtown last Tuesday was found to be dead the following morning on the ground by an 8 story-parking building about 4 km away from where he disappeared.

An autopsy and foot steps of the victim found on top of the parking building indicated that he was thrown from the roof of the building.

Police, after analyzing video footage obtained from security cameras positioned along a shopping street about an hour, finally found the a uniform wearing suspect walking with the victim.

Police are also investigating connection to this case to other cases which five 3 to 4 year old children have been found since last March forcibly thrown out or naked in parking lots near the murder spot.

A body of a 13-year-old 2nd grade junior high school boy was found buried in a local cemetery near an U.S. military base in Okinawa Prefecture Saturday. Four suspects arrested by police are a 2nd grade junior high school(13) male student, a 3rd grade (13) junior high school male and female student, and a 15 year old senior high school male student. They demanded the victim who used to be their target of bullying to come out and hit him with obtuse weapons by turns for about an hour on June 28.

As the victim does not move anymore, they checked the pulse and the facial tone and so, it`s been disclosed that they confirmed the death and then buried him.

The 13 yea-old was handed over to the Court of Family Affairs as he is not subject to criminal charge, and the rest of the three were handed over to the police charged with murder and anadorning the dead body.

They did not say a word of regret or reflection but only said “we did it” when they were interrogated, Okina Times and other local media reported.

Hun-Joo Cho hanscho@donga.com