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Sasebo slashing 

For other uses of "Nevada Tan", see Nevada Tan (band).

The "Sasebo slashing"[1] refers to the murder of a 12-year-old Japanese schoolgirl, Satomi Mitarai (御手洗 怜美 Mitarai Satomi?), by an 11-year-old classmate.[2] The murder occurred on June 1, 2004 at an elementary school in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, and involved the slitting of Mitarai's throat and arms with a box cutter.[3]

The killer's real name has not been released to the press, as per Japanese legal procedures prohibiting the identification of juvenile offenders, and Japanese police referred to her as "Girl A".[4] The Nagasaki District Legal Affairs Bureau cautioned internet community members against their revealing her photos.[5]

Contents

The murder

The 11-year-old schoolgirl murdered her 12-year-old classmate, Satomi Mitarai, in an empty classroom during the lunch hour at Okubo Elementary School in Sasebo.[6] She left Mitarai's body at the murder scene and returned to her own classroom, her clothes covered in blood.[7] The girls' teacher, who had noticed that both were missing, found the body and called the police.[8]

After being taken into custody, she was reported as confessing to the crime, saying "I am sorry, I am sorry" to police[9], though initially said no motive.[10] Shortly afterward, she confessed to police that she and Mitarai had fallen out as a result of messages left on the Internet.[11] She claimed that Mitarai slandered her.[12]

On September 15, 2004, a Japanese Family Court ruled to institutionalize her, putting aside her young age because of the severity of the crime.[13] She was sent to a reformatory in Tochigi prefecture.[14] The Nagasaki family court in 2004 originally sentenced her to two-years of involuntary commitment, but it sentenced her to additional two-years of involuntary commitment in September 2006.[15] On May 29, 2008, local authorities announced they will lift the restrictions of freedom on her.[16]

Reaction

The murder sparked an ongoing debate in Japan about whether the age of criminal responsibility, shifted from 16 to 14 in 2000 due to the 1997 Sakakibara Seito murders in Kobe, needed to be shifted again.[17] The killer was considered to be normal before the incident,[18] which made the public more anxious.[19]

Members of the Japanese Diet came under heavy criticism for comments made in the wake of the killing, such as Kiichi Inoue.[20] Inoue was criticized for using a word which Seiichi Ota also used during gang rape scandal.[21] Sadakazu Tanigaki was also criticized for claiming that the throat cutting was a "manly" crime.[22]

Akio Mori utilised her for supporting his theory "Game Brain".[23] The killer reportedly saw "Red Room".[24] A Battle Royale fansite reported that the creators of the sequel postponed the release of the DVD (originally scheduled for June 9, 2004, a week after the killing) to later that year due to "current events."[25]

In the March 18, 2005 Okubo Elementary graduation, students were given a graduation album with a blank page, should the students decide to place pictures of Mitarai and the killer, or class pictures containing both, on them.[26] Mitarai and the killer were exceptionally given graduation certificates.[27]

References

  1. ^ "Japanese schoolgirl kills classmate". The Sydney Morning Herald (2004-06-02). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
  2. ^ "Japanese girl accused of killing classmate". The Independent (2004-06-02). Retrieved on 2008-06-24.
  3. ^ "Girl says internet spat prompted slaying". China Daily (2004-06-04). Retrieved on 2008-06-23.
  4. ^ "Japanese girl stabbed to death in school". China Daily (2004-06-02). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
  5. ^ "ネットに加害女児の顔、名前　長崎地方法務局が削除要請" (in Japanese). Nagasaki Shimbun (2004-06-03). Retrieved on 2008-06-23. Internet Archive copy.
  6. ^ "Sixth-grader kills her classmate, 12". The Japan Times (2004-06-02). Retrieved on 2008-06-23.
  7. ^ "Japanese girl, 11, cuts friend's throat". The Age (2004-06-02). Retrieved on 2008-06-23.
  8. ^ "Japanese Girl Fatally Stabs A Classmate". The New York Times (2004-06-02). Retrieved on 2008-06-23.
  9. ^ "Japan stunned by schoolgirl crime". CNN.com (2004-06-02). Retrieved on 2008-06-23.
  10. ^ "Japanese girl, 11, kills classmate by slitting her throat". Scotland on Sunday (2004-06-02). Retrieved on 2008-06-24.
  11. ^ "Japan in shock at school murder". BBC News (2 June 2004). Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
  12. ^ "Internet Messages Cited In Girl's Killing". The New York Times (2004-06-03). Retrieved on 2008-06-23.
  13. ^ "An 11-year-old Japanese girl to be placed in juvenile center over classmate's slaying", Associated Press (2004-09-15). Retrieved on 2007-09-19. 
  14. ^ "11-year-old killer institutionalized". The Japan Times (2004-09-25). Retrieved on 2008-06-23.
  15. ^ "Girl who fatally stabbed classmate to have freedom restrictions lifted". Mainichi Daily News (2008-05-29). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
  16. ^ "Father of murdered Sasebo girl speaks on lifting of attacker's freedom restrictions". Mainichi Daily News (2008-05-30). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
  17. ^ Watson, Nicholas (June 21, 2004). "Violent crime prompts debate over age of legal responsibility in Japan". Publique!. Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
  18. ^ "Japan stunned by schoolgirl stabbing". The Daily Telegraph (2004-06-02). Retrieved on 2008-06-23.
  19. ^ Faiola, Anthony (August 9 2004). "Youth Violence Has Japan Struggling for Answers - 11-Year-Old's Killing of Classmate Puts Spotlight on Sudden Acts of Rage". Washington Post Foreign Service: A01. Retrieved on 2007-09-19. 
  20. ^ "Japan killing comments spark row". BBC News (2004-06-04). Retrieved on 2008-06-23.
  21. ^ "School slaying a sign of gender equality: minister". Taipei Times (2004-06-05). Retrieved on 2008-06-23.
  22. ^ "Ministers told to watch their mouths". The Japan Times (2004-06-12). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
  23. ^ "Using computers for long hours may prompt children to behave violently, neurologists says". Medical News Today (2004-06-23). Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
  24. ^ "殺害手口、参考の可能性　ネットの物語掲載サイト" (in Japanese). Nagasaki Shimbun (2004-06-09). Retrieved on 2008-06-23. Internet Archive copy.
  25. ^ "BRII: Revenge DVD release postponed". Battleroyalefilm.net (June 9, 2004). Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
  26. ^ "Murdered girl's classmates get blank page for killer in graduation album". Daily Mainichi (March 18, 2005). Retrieved on 2006-03-25. (link inactive since last access date)
  27. ^ "Slain Sasebo girl awarded posthumous graduation", The Japan Times (2005-03-18). Retrieved on 2008-06-23. 

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