A primer on grisly Japanese youth violence

[kamome]

In case you were wondering about the status of decaying youth in Japan, this article will catch you up on most of it.

On a cloudless afternoon in this sleepy port city, an 11-year-old girl drenched in blood and clutching a box cutter walked into the lunchroom at her elementary school. Teachers and students froze, assuming the sixth-grader known for her lighthearted nature had gravely hurt herself -- but she quickly dispelled that impression, witnesses said, by uttering a few chilling words: "This is not my blood."

Anybody following J-news will have heard of all of the incidents in the article, but it's always nice to have a refresher course.

[jingai]

I hadn't heard this one before...

The young killer in Sasebo, whose name is being withheld under Japanese law, was an avid fan of "Battle Royale," a popular teen movie turned Internet game in which students kill one another through blood sport. Although the girl is still undergoing psychological evaluation, she is believed to have been set off by a seemingly minor offense: The victim, one of the girl's closest friends, once called her "overweight" and "prissy" on a Web site.

and then

Children, one government expert said, have become too used to dead characters coming back to life with the touch of a button on a game console. The young killer in Sasebo, for instance, did not appear to grasp fully the fact that she had ended her friend's life, telling the family court that she wanted to apologize to her friend in person for the deed, according to sources familiar with the case.

Yikes, game over man.

[Lethain]

The killing two months ago marked the latest and one of the most extreme in an extraordinary series of youth crimes in Japan -- including a number perpetrated by children who did not show unusual behavior beforehand. In many of the cases, the children involved seemed to snap without warning, in fits of kireru, sudden acts of rage.

The 11-year old killer, according to her own admissions as recounted in interviews with school officials and counselors, had led Satomi, remembered for her toothy grin, into the room. The attacker drew the curtains before slitting her victim's throat and brutally kicking the dying girl's head and sides, according to those interviewed.

When the writer says sudden acts of rage, I think he was searching for another word... oh yeah, premeditated.

[Andocrates]

There are times, walking around Japan, I get the feeling the whole nation could snap at any moment. The emotional detachment they are capable of is unparalleled.

[djgizmoe]

[torasan]

MORE

A 15-year-old boy who stabbed his former classmate's mother to death over trouble with the classmate has been arrested, police said. The boy, whose name has been withheld because he is a minor, was arrested Monday afternoon, after the body of the victim, Taeko Sasaki, 46, was found in her home.

When questioned over the killing, the boy, who was a classmate of Sasaki's 16-year-old son in junior high school, reportedly told police he had attacked Sasaki because her son wasn't home.

"He wasn't there so I killed his mother instead," police quoted him as saying.

Yes, JAPAN is a very snappable nation. On edge. Such a pretty pretty place full of wonderful people who live in a stressed out police state of the narrow mind. And a people without either a vision or a soul. Shinto doesn't do it. Buddhism doesn't do it. Japan needs Jesus, to know love, but unfortunately, it aint never gonna happen here. There is no place for God's deep love in the Japanese heart as it is presently constititued.

Sick patient of the modern world.

[Caustic Saint]

Japan needs Jesus, to know love, but unfortunately, it aint never gonna happen here. There is no place for God's deep love in the Japanese heart as it is presently constititued.

BWAH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[AssKissinger]

Kick that Jesus BULLSHIT to the curb. Give up! Christianity is stupid.

[Bongo]

[Bongo]

Kick that Jesus BULLSHIT to the curb. Give up! Christianity is stupid.

I hate to agree with you here but.........!

[djgizmoe]

[Andocrates]

Harsh, but if you talk about that stuff on a web-site with "fuck" in the url you're bound to get some grief.

[Charles]

There are times, walking around Japan, I get the feeling the whole nation could snap at any moment. The emotional detachment they are capable of is unparalleled.

You ought to read "Underground" by Murakami Haruki. His final essay is chilling. He says that the reason groups like Aum Shinrikyo get roots in Japan is because of that detatchment. He describes how he saw Aum demonstrators marching in the streets and everyone walked right past and pretended not to notice them. Keeping an emotional distance from the loonies also gives them the freedom to go nuts without anyone to restrain them.

[torasan]

exactly: "You ought to read "Underground" by Murakami Haruki. His final essay is chilling. He says that the reason groups like Aum Shinrikyo get roots in Japan is because of that detatchment. He describes how he saw Aum demonstrators marching in the streets and everyone walked right past and pretended not to notice them. Keeping an emotional distance from the loonies also gives them the freedom to go nuts without anyone to restrain them."

and I once asked Murakami to help me, a non Japanese who was in a bind, and he said no, i cannot get invovled. really. you see, it goes all the up the chain to even the bestselling novelists like Murakami who pretends to love freedom but is really just as afraid of Japan as everyone else is. really. i knocked on his door and he closed it, gently, in my face, said sorry, gomenasai. how's that for courage? Haruki, shame on you!

it is a nationwide sickness

[Big Booger]

Societies all over the globe are facing this. This is not just a Japanese problem or issue. Kids the world over are killing over some stupid shit. They commit crimes at the blink of an eye. That's not to say they are the majority. And to say that it is only happening these days is, to quote the FG fulmination philosopher, "Bullshit".

We see it more today because of news media reaching every nook and cranny of the globe. But back in the old days there were jaded psychopathic adolescents just as bad if not worse.

I often wonder if murder is not some built in glitch in the human psyche to control the population. I know that cannot be the case but I often wonder.

[Faded]

As much as I would like to post some nasty reply to "the only way to know love is to know God" comment, I think it's been ridiculed enough so far, so I'll just keep my chuckles to myself.

As for the Detachment of the Japanese, just walk through any city in the world and watch the people walk by the homeless, bump into each other with so much as a grunt, and even worse. These days people are more interested in watching atrocities on TV(beheadings anyone?) then to do anything about the ones infront of them.

A cop told me once that his advice to women was, if they were being attacked, they should never yell for help or cry Rape, because they would be ignored, but if they yelled Fire, everyone would come running.

Question remains to me though, is which is worse, the Crimes children are commiting today, or the crimes Adults commit on children(rape, beating/starving/suffocating to death).
The "child violence" isn't found only in Japan, just proving Japan is like the rest of the world afterall (despite what they may say (T.I.J.))

[wildstar]

From http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4680:

This thread is supposed to be about swapping information not taking cheap and in this case unfounded swipes at each other.

From a few posts back on this topic:

Kick that Jesus BULLSHIT to the curb. Give up! Christianity is stupid.

i thought the first one was funny when i read it, and it just keeps gettin' funnier with every post

[Andocrates]

As for the Detachment of the Japanese, just walk through any city in the world and watch the people walk by the homeless, bump into each other with so much as a grunt, and even worse. These days people are more interested in watching atrocities on TV(beheadings anyone?) then to do anything about the ones infront of them.

Question remains to me though, is which is worse, the Crimes children are commiting today, or the crimes Adults commit on children(rape, beating/starving/suffocating to death).
The "child violence" isn't found only in Japan, just proving Japan is like the rest of the world afterall (despite what they may say (T.I.J.))

Well, I wasn't speaking of that kind of indifference. I was talking about the way the Japanese can simply cut another person out of their life completely and without doubt, no matter how close they may have been. I was speaking about how they thrive on suffering and pain (which only tends to make them stronger.) And the power of the "Borg" mindset. They talk pacifism but I think they could turn into a major war-machine in a matter of weeks.

However next time around, like last time, they will be had pressed to get natural resources. If China and NK keep "picking on them" they will start to get militaristic.

[Caustic Saint]

A cop told me once that his advice to women was, if they were being attacked, they should never yell for help or cry Rape, because they would be ignored, but if they yelled Fire, everyone would come running.

That's not just a Japan thing (assuming it was a Japanese cop who told you that). I've heard that that's pretty much a global practice nowadays.

[Akisa]

Please expand on this detachment that is being discussed. I think I have experienced it with my Japanese girlfriend.

[Bongo]

Harsh, but if you talk about that stuff on a web-site with "fuck" in the url you're bound to get some grief.

No, if you talk about such mind incarceration on a web site with reasonably free thinking people around, you get the same answer.
And, I think we can thank human intelligence for that, if indeed humans actually wrote it.

[Bongo]

Please expand on this detachment that is being discussed. I think I have experienced it with my Japanese girlfriend.

Ok, it is like when you are banging your girlfriend and she continues to wash the dishes.

[Faded]

Well, I wasn't speaking of that kind of indifference. I was talking about the way the Japanese can simply cut another person out of their life completely and without doubt, no matter how close they may have been.

hate to say it, but that's universal too. usually it happens slowly as people marry, have kids, move to a new job, etc. Sounds like you've had a more "personal" experience with this one though.

And the power of the "Borg" mindset. They talk pacifism but I think they could turn into a major war-machine in a matter of weeks.

Far too easily. Though with the political climates in Asia these days, and everyone scared of pissing China and N. Korea off, I think the rest of the world would clamp back down on Japan pretty fast.

Getting back on topic though, in a society that stresses conformity and image so greatly, its not surprising that some people "burst" on occasion. That's why the rampant acoholicism, drunken rants, and sexual deviations are usually "overlooked". Which would explain the adults going bonkers , but with the Kids, who knows why they are going off their rocker more. Maybe parents should start bringing them to the bars too.