Killing of Satomi Mitarai

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

Sasebo slashing
File:Okubo es Sasebo 2011.JPG
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 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][not in body]

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

Murder

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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]

File:国立きぬ川学院.png
A reformatory in Tochigi Prefecture where "Girl A" was institutionalized

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

Reaction

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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

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References

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