Killing of Satomi Mitarai explained

Sasebo slashing
Location:Okubo Elementary School, Higashiokubocho, Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
Type:Murder
Fatalities:1
Perp:Girl A, 11
Victim:Satomi Mitarai, 12
Weapon:Utility knife

The,[1] also known as the Nevada-tan murder, was the murder of a 12-year-old Japanese schoolgirl,, by an 11-year-old female classmate referred to as "Girl A" (a common placeholder name used for female criminals in Japan).[2] The murder occurred on June 1, 2004, at an elementary school in the city of Sasebo in Nagasaki Prefecture. The murderer slit Mitarai's throat and arms with a box cutter.[3]

Reactions to the incident included Internet memes and a discussion of lowering the age of criminal responsibility in Japan. The killer's name was not released to the press, as per Japanese legal procedures prohibiting the identification of juvenile offenders;[4] the Nagasaki District Legal Affairs Bureau cautioned Internet users against revealing her photos. However, members of the Japanese Internet community 2channel read a name on a classroom drawing believed to be made by Girl A, and publicized the name on June 18, 2004.[5] [6]

Murder

On June 1, 2004, Girl A murdered her 12-year-old classmate, Satomi Mitarai, in an empty classroom during the lunch hour at Okubo Elementary School in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture.[7] Girl A returned to her classroom, her clothes covered in blood.[8] The girls' teacher, who had noticed that both girls were missing, stumbled upon the body and called the police.[9]

After being taken into custody, Girl A was reported to have confessed to the crime, saying "I am sorry, I am sorry" to police officers.[10] She spent the night at the police station, often crying, and refusing to eat or drink. Girl A initially mentioned no motive for the killing.[11] Shortly afterward, she confessed to police that she and Mitarai had quarreled as a result of messages left on the Internet.[12] Girl A claimed that Mitarai slandered her[13] by commenting on her weight and calling her a "goody-goody".

On September 15, 2004, a Japanese Family Court ruled to institutionalize Girl A, putting aside her young age because of the severity of the crime.[14] She was sent to a reformatory in Tochigi Prefecture.[15] The Nagasaki family court originally sentenced Girl A to two years of involuntary commitment, but the sentence was extended by two years in September 2006, following a psychological evaluation.[16] On May 29, 2008, local authorities announced that they did not seek an additional sentence.[17]

Because of her issues with communication and obsessive interests, Girl A was diagnosed after the murder with Asperger syndrome.[18]

Reaction

The killing provoked a debate in Japan whether the age of criminal responsibility, lowered from 16 to 14 in 2000 due to the 1997 Kobe child murders, needed to be lowered again.[19] Girl A was considered to be a normal and well-adjusted child before the incident,[20] which made the public more anxious.[21]

Members of the Japanese Diet, such as Kiichi Inoue and Sadakazu Tanigaki, came under criticism for comments made in the wake of the killing.[22] Inoue was criticized for referring to Girl A as genki (vigorous, lively), a word with positive connotations.[23] Tanigaki was criticized for referring to the method of killing, slitting of the throat, as a "manly" act.[24]

Girl A became the subject of an Internet meme on Japanese web communities such as 2channel. She was nicknamed "Nevada-tan" because a class photograph showed a young girl believed to be her wearing a University of Nevada, Reno sweatshirt,[25] with being a childlike pronunciation of the Japanese honorific suffix, generally used to refer to young girls.

Akio Mori cited this case in support of his controversial "game brain" theory,[26] which has been criticized as pseudoscience.[27] Girl A was reported to be a fan of the death-themed flash animation "Red Room",[28] a claim used in support of the theory. It was also known that Girl A had read the controversial novel Battle Royale and had seen its film adaptation, which centers on young students fighting to the death.[29]

On March 18, 2005, during the Okubo Elementary graduation ceremony, students were given a graduation album with a blank page in honor of Mitarai's death on which they could put pictures of Mitarai, Girl A, or class pictures containing both girls.[30] Mitarai was posthumously awarded a graduation certificate, which her father accepted on her behalf. Girl A was also awarded a certificate, as one is required in Japan in order to enter a junior high school and the school believed it would aid her "reintegration into society".[31]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Japanese schoolgirl kills classmate. The Sydney Morning Herald. June 2, 2004. June 6, 2008.
  2. News: Japanese girl accused of killing classmate. The Independent. June 2, 2004. June 24, 2008. London. Mari. Yamaguchi.
  3. News: Girl says internet spat prompted slaying. China Daily. June 4, 2004. June 23, 2008.
  4. News: Japanese girl stabbed to death in school. China Daily. June 2, 2004. June 6, 2008.
  5. Web site: 2004-06-03 . ネットに加害女児の顔、名前　長崎地方法務局が削除要請 . Nagasaki District Legal Affairs Bureau requests that the face and name of the perpetrator girl be removed from the internet . https://web.archive.org/web/20040605010901/http://www.nagasaki-np.co.jp/press/syou6/kiji/2004060304.html . 2004-06-05 . Nagasaki Shimbun . ja.
  6. Book: Satō, Haruto . Hanzai Kogal . 2005 . 11, 46, 29.
  7. News: Sixth-grader kills her classmate, 12. The Japan Times. June 2, 2004. June 23, 2008.
  8. Web site: June 2, 2004 . Japanese girl, 11, cuts friend's throat . June 23, 2008 . The Age.
  9. News: Japanese Girl Fatally Stabs A Classmate. The New York Times. June 2, 2004. June 23, 2008.
  10. News: June 2, 2004 . Japan stunned by schoolgirl crime . June 23, 2008 . CNN.
  11. News: Japanese girl, 11, kills classmate by slitting her throat. https://web.archive.org/web/20080705231620/http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/world/Japanese-girl-11-kills-classmate.2534004.jp. dead. July 5, 2008. Scotland on Sunday. June 2, 2004. June 24, 2008.
  12. News: June 2, 2004 . Japan in shock at school murder . September 19, 2007 . BBC News.
  13. News: Internet Messages Cited In Girl's Killing. The New York Times. June 3, 2004. June 23, 2008. James. Brooke.
  14. News: An 11-year-old Japanese girl to be placed in juvenile center over classmate's slaying. Boston Herald. Associated Press. September 15, 2004. September 19, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20060504071903/http://news.bostonherald.com/international/view.bg?articleid=44426&format=text. May 4, 2006.
  15. News: 11-year-old killer institutionalized. The Japan Times. September 25, 2004. June 23, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081006055214/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/weekly/news/nn2004/nn20040925a4.htm. October 6, 2008.
  16. News: Girl who fatally stabbed classmate to have freedom restrictions lifted. Mainichi Daily News. May 29, 2008. June 6, 2008.
  17. News: Father of murdered Sasebo girl speaks on lifting of attacker's freedom restrictions. Mainichi Daily News. May 30, 2008. June 6, 2008.
  18. Book: Kusanagi, Atsuko . November 24, 2005 . . 4-06-213041-6 . . 93–110, 214–228 . ja . ja:追跡！「佐世保小六女児同級生殺害事件」 . Tracked down! The case of the homicide committed by a Sasebo Elementary Grade 6 girl against her classmate . ja:第七章 「コミュニケーション能力」と「エピローグ」 . Chapter 7: "Communication Ability" and "Epilogue".
  19. Web site: Watson . Nicholas . June 21, 2004 . Violent crime prompts debate over age of legal responsibility in Japan . https://web.archive.org/web/20080224013047/https://www.coav.org.br/publique/cgi/cgilua.exe/sys/start.htm?infoid=834&tpl=printerview&sid=107 . February 24, 2008 . September 19, 2007 . Publique!.
  20. News: Japan stunned by schoolgirl stabbing. The Daily Telegraph. June 2, 2004. June 23, 2008. London.
  21. News: Youth Violence Has Japan Struggling for Answers - 11-Year-Old's Killing of Classmate Puts Spotlight on Sudden Acts of Rage. https://archive.today/20130503145849/http://www.worldministries.org/prophecynewsarticles/japan/040809_Youth_Violence_Japan_Struggling_for_Answers_japan.html. dead. May 3, 2013. Anthony. Faiola. The Washington Post. August 9, 2004. A01. June 22, 2012.
  22. News: June 4, 2004 . Japan killing comments spark row . June 23, 2008 . BBC News.
  23. News: School slaying a sign of gender equality: minister. Taipei Times. June 5, 2004. June 23, 2008.
  24. News: Ministers told to watch their mouths. The Japan Times. June 12, 2004. June 6, 2008.
  25. News: Nevada-tan . April 19, 2018 . Know Your Meme .
  26. News: June 23, 2004 . Using computers for long hours may prompt children to behave violently, neurologists says . February 7, 2008 . . .
  27. Web site: 脳のメカニズムに迫る 川島隆太 東北大学 加齢医学研究所 教授 . Approaching the mechanisms of the brain: Professor Ryuta Kawashima, Institute of Aging and Aging, Tohoku University . May 31, 2008 . Science Portal . ja.
  28. News: http://www.nagasaki-np.co.jp/press/syou6/kiji/2004060902.html. https://web.archive.org/web/20040618172026/http://www.nagasaki-np.co.jp/press/syou6/kiji/2004060902.html. dead. June 18, 2004. ja:殺害手口、参考の可能性 ネットの物語掲載サイト. ja. Nagasaki Shimbun. June 9, 2004. June 23, 2008. Wayback Machine copy.
  29. News: Japan schoolgirl killer 'sorry'. January 12, 2007. BBC News. June 3, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20070213095443/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3772737.stm. February 13, 2007 . live.
  30. News: Murdered girl's classmates get blank page for killer in graduation album. Mainichi Daily News. March 18, 2005. March 25, 2006. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20050412093501/http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/archive/200503/18/20050318p2a00m0dm010000c.html. April 12, 2005.
  31. News: Slain Sasebo girl awarded posthumous graduation. The Japan Times. March 18, 2005. June 23, 2008. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080705172548/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20050318a6.html. July 5, 2008.

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