death in Akiba

[laborpilot86]

from the wires...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/08/japan

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-06-08/over-13-stabbed-2-confirmed-dead-in-tokyo-akihabara

the worst mass murder in Japan for over ten years:(

[animanic_critic]

Actually, I thought that the mass children killing also in Akihabara in 2001 was just as terrible, maybe even worse. Still, I can't help but feel so sorry for those who suffered in the tragedy in such an iconic place. Perhaps it was some anxiety disorder or depression that drove him into doing such a thing.

My deepest sympathies to all those in grief and concerned.

[Pedro The Hutt]

Well, statistically you're still much safer in Japan than you are in say, America.
Though this still is rather unfortunate, probably for the killer too, he must've literally finally lost it. Such is work pressure in Japan.

[Le Bread]

Though this still is rather unfortunate, probably for the killer too, he must've literally finally lost it. Such is work pressure in Japan.

Let's not generalize here. It's easy to stereotype Japanese crime as the effects of societal expectations and work pressure, but in most cases there is far more at work than that. Let's wait until we get a clearer profile of the killers history (and not the Fuji TVized "ANIME MADE HIM DO IT" version) and personality before attempting to reach any conclusions as to probable cause.

[Barrelhaven]

As if the story wasn't weird enough, apparently there's now some internet vigilante justice movement going on to punish not the actual killer...but the innocent bystanders who were smirking on live tv as the news broke in. link (http://kotaku.com/5014866/internet-vigilante-searches-for-akihabara-tragedy-grinning-morons)

[laborpilot86]

I personally think that violent crime is actually underreported in Japan, mostly because of that whole 'OMG I'LL LOSE FACE' bit thats so ingrained in the culture. This kind of thing, though, is very rare in comparison to the U.S

[Erigion]

I personally think that violent crime is actually underreported in Japan, mostly because of that whole 'OMG I'LL LOSE FACE' bit thats so ingrained in the culture. This kind of thing, though, is very rare in comparison to the U.S
So people just find their relatives killed/raped/assaulted and figure it's way more hassle to report it?

[laborpilot86]

no, because the cops don't include incident reports etc it in the offical reports to thier superiors.

[Le Bread]

no, because the cops don't include incident reports etc it in the offical reports to thier superiors.

What's your source on this subject, exactly?

[laborpilot86]

The Japan Times Online, which I don't link to because thier URLs aren't persistant, and several magazines like Time, Newsweek, and the Economist have had articles several times in regards to crime and punishment in Japan. One of the bits that bubbles up quite a lot is that Japan's rate of violent crime may be higher than what is actually reported by official statictics, with most of the things not being reported being non-lethal gang violence, domestic disputes, muggings and other comparitively minor incidents, at least in comparison to the subject of this thread.

[Erigion]

Wow, Japan must be a haven for violent criminals if the police won't file actual reports on their crimes.

[laborpilot86]

The crime rate, even if you think that the Japanese authorites are 'gaming' the numbers, is still much, much lower then either the U.K or the U.S. From some stats (again, see previous posts for sources), only Holland and Sweden are lower than Japan (again, working with the presumption that some prefectures may be under-reporting certain types of incidents).

[animanic_critic]

There are news about the killer's brother stating about how cruel their mother was during his upbringing. Apparently, she even made him eat his meal on newspapers off the floor like a dog as punishment. Source here (http://www.theage.com.au/world/tokyo-killer-stifled-by-strict-mum-brother-20080616-2rjz.html).

If this is just one of the things he had to put up with, then I can understand where this whole tragedy is coming from.

[Barrelhaven]

There are news about the killer's brother stating about how cruel their mother was during his upbringing. Apparently, she even made him eat his meal on newspapers off the floor like a dog as punishment. Source here (http://www.theage.com.au/world/tokyo-killer-stifled-by-strict-mum-brother-20080616-2rjz.html).

If this is just one of the things he had to put up with, then I can understand where this whole tragedy is coming from.

The mom might be a little crazy, but it still doesn't make me understand why he took it out on random innocent bystanders. If he didn't like it, he should've just ran away, deal with it, or off himself...no need to involve people who had nothing to do with him.

[C0MPL3X]

I think that's why his brother was calling him "the culprit" or "that". I can understand the mom's point of view. I knew way too many real-life parents and their twisted Asian way of educating their children (I used to think it was Korean thing but other Asian countries have it bad as well). Sad thing is that they really do love their children and they believe they're doing good for their children's future. If I read the article correctly (and further infer a bit), that's what both the guy and his mother came to recognise and were able to come to terms with each other at the end; she recognised her wrong ways of treating her son, and the guy recognised that she meant well (even if it didn't do well). As for the killer, I don't really fancy the idea of putting myself into his shoes and trying to understand him.

[animanic_critic]

According to various sources, his grades began to slip from an elite high school and began to feel depressed. Along the way, he started believing that society is against him and feels like killing himself but is not capable of bringing himself to do it, so he decides to kill random people to get the death sentence. A somewhat forceful way to get what he desires, but a horribly selfish one too.

[laborpilot86]

sounds like the overwhelming pressure of the Japanese school system caused him to crash out into pretty dull 'worker bee' job, which caused issues with oka-san (who sounds like a real beaut:help:) and the rest of the family, which causes depression, and then.........:help:

Why everybody's favorite otaku hangout?

Why mass murder? Such a case is very rare in Japan...usually when you are sucicidial, you just kill yourself and that's the end of it.

I can imagine the pundits in Japan chewing on this one for awhile...

[Erigion]

We shoulda just nuked the whole country while we had the chance.

[animanic_critic]

The only thing I'm puzzled is the reason behind the hesitation of killing himself. I can understand the rest of the story so far though.

[laborpilot86]

That is the wierd part, especially from a Japanese point of view. Again, in Japan, if you are as messed up as this guy was, you usually kill yourself and that's the end of it. This case is more like your typical U.S 'distraught spree killer' rampage, which I think is the reason the Japanese press and pundits will be talking about for a good long while.

[Erigion]

That is the wierd part, especially from a Japanese point of view. Again, in Japan, if you are as messed up as this guy was, you usually kill yourself and that's the end of it. This case is more like your typical U.S 'distraught spree killer' rampage, which I think is the reason the Japanese press and pundits will be talking about for a good long while.
No, US killing rampages are more like "Screw you all, I hate the world and I'm going out with a bang!"

This one seems more like, "I'm too much of a ***** to kill myself so I'll let the government do it!"

Although that way of going out is much easier in the US since our cops love to shoot things and I don't think Japanese cops carry guns. But I could be wrong.

[laborpilot86]

I think some Japanese cops do carry guns, but not as often as in the U.S.

[silan]

Hah, this thread is old, but whatever.

The mom might be a little crazy, but it still doesn't make me understand why he took it out on random innocent bystanders. If he didn't like it, he should've just ran away, deal with it, or off himself...no need to involve people who had nothing to do with him.
I'm no psychologist and I don't really know the facts of his situation, but I could imagine that there are reasons (not good reasons, but reasons nonetheless) he'd take it out on other people rather than on himself or his mother. For example, maybe he felt like he was all alone and suffering, while the people around him were having a good life, so he wanted them to suffer too. I don't think the whole "misery loves company" adage applies only to Western culture. Or, after reading the second article, maybe he viewed everyone else as successful and he wanted to take them out so he had less competition. Or something like that. Twisted reasons that justify in his mind what he did, but don't really make much sense to anyone else.

I don't know, I find it more interesting that his younger brother was referring to his older brother as "that," according to the article posted by AC. I guess I understand, "the culprit," which is the other phrase he used, but "that," as though he's just an inanimate object? Maybe there's a different connotation in Japanese that is lost in translation, but when it's translated to English, it just makes me think that the whole family is twisted.

[laborpilot86]

from what the reports said about the suspect's mother, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole family is screwed up.

[animanic_critic]

I don't know, I find it more interesting that his younger brother was referring to his older brother as "that," according to the article posted by AC. I guess I understand, "the culprit," which is the other phrase he used, but "that," as though he's just an inanimate object? Maybe there's a different connotation in Japanese that is lost in translation, but when it's translated to English, it just makes me think that the whole family is twisted.
There may be a reason why he referred to his brother as "that". Either he's so crushed by the horrible act that he denounces his brother, or his brother is not really that different from his mother back when she was a bitch. There may be another reason, but I believe that either one of this is most likely.

[Sae]

O.O..............O.O.......omg that is so scary......AND I'M TAKING A TRIP THERE NEXT SUMMER!.......<.<.....>.>......(grabs bat and skates from kid off of Paranoia Agent) Stay the *@$# away from me!!!!:help:

[laborpilot86]

don't worry, Sae-chan, they caught the guy. It was really bizarre though.:help:

[Sae]

don't worry, Sae-chan, they caught the guy. It was really bizarre though.:help:

Indeed.....I wonder why he did it? Bad childhood? Bad sex life? I guess I'll never know....V.V

p.s. I <3<3<3 the -chan! ^-^

[ProfessorWashu]

Based on the message he sent on that bulletin board, I don't think he planned to come out of this alive. Perhaps an explosion of rage or misery, coupled with an "I'm gonna take you all with me!!!" approach to suicide are what we are seeing here. It's truly tragic when someone reaches that point, and it takes no small measure of pain or anger to drive one that far. A cruel childhood coupled with a maladjusted adulthood....yup. That'll do it. That does not justify what happened, but can explain it.

[Sae]

Based on the message he sent on that bulletin board, I don't think he planned to come out of this alive. Perhaps an explosion of rage or misery, coupled with an "I'm gonna take you all with me!!!" approach to suicide are what we are seeing here. It's truly tragic when someone reaches that point, and it takes no small measure of pain or anger to drive one that far. A cruel childhood coupled with a maladjusted adulthood....yup. That'll do it. That does not justify what happened, but can explain it.

Agreed. It takes very little to push someone (in that state of mind) over the edge. I just wish he could've found help sooner. V.V