Killing of Satomi Mitarai

For the 2014 murder in Sasebo, see Murder of Aiwa Matsuo.

Sasebo slashing
Okubo Elementary School, the site of the murder (pictured on 2011)
LocationOkubo Elementary School, Higashiokubocho, Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
DateJune 1, 2004 (2004-06-01)
Attack type
Murder
WeaponUtility knife
Deaths1
VictimSatomi Mitarai, 12
PerpetratorGirl A, 11

The "Sasebo slashing" (Japanese: 佐世保小6女児同級生殺害事件, Hepburn: Sasebo shōroku joji dōkyūsei satsugai jiken),[1] also known as the Nevada-tan murder, was the murder of a 12-year-old Japanese schoolgirl, Satomi Mitarai (御手洗 怜美, Mitarai Satomi), by an 11-year-old female classmate, "Girl A" (a common placeholder name for juvenile female criminals in Japan).[2] The murder occurred on June 1, 2004, at an elementary school in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture. The murderer slit Mitarai's throat and arms with a box cutter.[3]

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.[5] 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]

The incident sparked discussions about lowering the age of criminal responsibility in Japan.

Murder

On June 1, 2004, at Okubo Elementary School in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, Girl A called a 12-year-old classmate, Satomi Mitarai, to an empty classroom.[7] Girl A slit Satomi's throat and arms with a box cutter, and reportedly watched her bleed to ensure her death. She returned to her classroom with her clothes covered in blood.[8] Her teacher checked her arms and hands for wounds; she found none and demanded an answer. Girl A allegedly responded, "It's not my blood. It's not me." The teacher then discovered the body.[9]

After being taken into custody, Girl A reportedly 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 confessed that she and Mitarai used to be close friends, but their relationship ended as a result of messages left on the (now deactivated) chatroom site Cafesta.[11] Girl A claimed that Mitarai slandered her[12] by commenting on her weight and calling her a "goody-goody".

On September 15, 2004, disregarding her young age, a Japanese Family Court ruled to institutionalize Girl A because of the severity of the crime.[13] She was sent to a reformatory facility in Tochigi Prefecture.[14] The Nagasaki family court originally sentenced Girl A to two years of involuntary commitment; the sentence was extended by two years in September 2006, following a psychological evaluation.[15] On May 29, 2008, local authorities announced that they did not seek an additional sentence.[16]

Because of her issues with communication and obsessive interests, Girl A was diagnosed after the murder with Asperger syndrome.[17]

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.[18] Girl A was considered to be a normal and well-adjusted child before the incident,[19] which made the public more anxious.[20]

Members of the Japanese Diet, such as Kiichi Inoue and Sadakazu Tanigaki, came under criticism for comments made in the wake of the killing.[21] Inoue was criticized for referring to Girl A as genki (vigorous, lively).[22] Tanigaki was criticized for referring to the method of killing, slitting of the throat, as a "manly" act.[23]

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,[24] with "-tan" being a childlike pronunciation of the Japanese honorific suffix "-chan", generally used to refer to young girls.

Akio Mori cited the case in support of his controversial "game brain" theory,[25] which has been criticized as pseudoscience.[26] Girl A was reported to be a fan of the death-themed Flash animation "Red Room",[27] a claim used in support of the theory. Girl A had also read the controversial novel Battle Royale and had seen its film adaptation, which centers on young students fighting to the death.[28]

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 with both girls.[29] 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 middle school, and the school believed it would aid her "reintegration into society".[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Japanese schoolgirl kills classmate". The Sydney Morning Herald. June 2, 2004. Archived from the original on June 15, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
  2. ^ Yamaguchi, Mari (June 2, 2004). "Japanese girl accused of killing classmate". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on March 5, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
  3. ^ "Girl says internet spat prompted slaying". China Daily. June 4, 2004. Archived from the original on August 27, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  4. ^ "Japanese girl stabbed to death in school". China Daily. June 2, 2004. Archived from the original on June 3, 2004. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
  5. ^ a b "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]. Nagasaki Shimbun (in Japanese). June 3, 2004. Archived from the original on June 5, 2004.
  6. ^ Satō, Haruto (2005). Hanzai Kogal. pp. 11, 46, 29.
  7. ^ "Sixth-grader kills her classmate, 12". The Japan Times. June 2, 2004. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  8. ^ "Japanese girl, 11, cuts friend's throat". The Age. June 2, 2004. Archived from the original on January 11, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  9. ^ "Japanese Girl Fatally Stabs A Classmate". The New York Times. June 2, 2004. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  10. ^ "Japan stunned by schoolgirl crime". CNN. June 2, 2004. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  11. ^ "Japan in shock at school murder". BBC News. June 2, 2004. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
  12. ^ Brooke, James (June 3, 2004). "Internet Messages Cited In Girl's Killing". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 2, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  13. ^ "An 11-year-old Japanese girl to be placed in juvenile center over classmate's slaying". Boston Herald. Associated Press. September 15, 2004. Archived from the original on May 4, 2006. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
  14. ^ "11-year-old killer institutionalized". The Japan Times. September 25, 2004. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  15. ^ "Girl who fatally stabbed classmate to have freedom restrictions lifted". Mainichi Daily News. May 29, 2008. Archived from the original on May 27, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
  16. ^ "Father of murdered Sasebo girl speaks on lifting of attacker's freedom restrictions". Mainichi Daily News. May 30, 2008. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
  17. ^ Kusanagi, Atsuko (November 24, 2005). 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"]. 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] (in Japanese). Japan: Kodansha. pp. 93–110, 214–228. ISBN 4-06-213041-6.
  18. ^ Watson, Nicholas (June 21, 2004). "Violent crime prompts debate over age of legal responsibility in Japan". Publique!. Archived from the original on February 24, 2008. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
  19. ^ "Japan stunned by schoolgirl stabbing". The Daily Telegraph. London. June 2, 2004. Archived from the original on July 2, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  20. ^ 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". The Washington Post. p. A01. Retrieved June 22, 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  21. ^ "Japan killing comments spark row". BBC News. June 4, 2004. Archived from the original on July 2, 2004. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  22. ^ "School slaying a sign of gender equality: minister". Taipei Times. June 5, 2004. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  23. ^ "Ministers told to watch their mouths". The Japan Times. June 12, 2004. Archived from the original on April 1, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
  24. ^ "Nevada-tan". Know Your Meme. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  25. ^ "Using computers for long hours may prompt children to behave violently, neurologists says". Medical News Today. June 23, 2004. Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2008{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  26. ^ "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]. Science Portal (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 13, 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2008.
  27. ^ 殺害手口、参考の可能性 ネットの物語掲載サイト. Nagasaki Shimbun (in Japanese). June 9, 2004. Archived from the original on June 18, 2004. Retrieved June 23, 2008. Wayback Machine copy.
  28. ^ "Japan schoolgirl killer 'sorry'". BBC News. June 3, 2004. Archived from the original on February 13, 2007. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
  29. ^ "Murdered girl's classmates get blank page for killer in graduation album". Mainichi Daily News. March 18, 2005. Archived from the original on April 12, 2005. Retrieved March 25, 2006.
  30. ^ "Slain Sasebo girl awarded posthumous graduation". The Japan Times. March 18, 2005. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
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