Ten Myths About Japan and the Japanese: #09 - Crime
What the Japanese would like you to believe:
There is no crime of a serious nature in Japan… none whatsoever. Well, yes, perhaps the odd person may cause trouble, but as long as they were drunk it’s not really their fault.
What is actually true:
A sampling of very recent crimes from the Japanese media:
Man jumps to death from condo after stabbing wife
A man in his 30s jumped to his death from the 13th floor of a condominium in Tokyo after stabbing his wife, police said. [Jan. 09, 2016 - 03:40PM JST]
Newborn baby girl dies after being found in dental clinic toilet
A newborn baby girl was found in the toilet at a dental clinic in a building in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Thursday. The baby was taken to hospital where she was confirmed dead. [Jan. 08, 2016 - 03:37PM JST]
Man arrested for sticking chopsticks in daughter’s ear
Police in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, have arrested a 51-year-old public servant on suspicion of injuring his daughter by sticking chopsticks into her ear. [Jan. 07, 2016 - 03:15PM JST]
Serial underwear thief re-arrested for assaulting woman
A 25-year-old unemployed man charged with stealing women’s underwear has been re-arrested on suspicion of assaulting a woman and snatching her underwear on a street in Nankoku city, Kochi Prefecture. [Jan. 07, 2016 - 05:55AM JST]
4 men arrested over drowning of 17-year-old youth
Four men have been arrested on suspicion of causing the death of a 17-year-old youth by making him fall into a river in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture. [Jan. 06, 2016 - 06:55AM JST]
29-year-old Osaka woman arrested for cutting up a corpse and scattering the pieces in her residence.
At approximately 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, police searched the apartment of Terumi Morishima, an illustrator, and found a skull and other body parts inside the bathroom and a freezer. Police believe the remains are those of a 25-year-old female part-time worker, who had been declared missing. Morishima, who has been charged with destruction and abandoning a corpse, declined to comment on the charges. “There is a skull is in my room, but I don’t want to talk about it,” the suspect was quoted by police. [Dec. 29, 2015 - 10:37AM JST]
42-yr-old man arrested for attempting to strangle 6-yr-old son to death
Police in Yokohama said Monday they have arrested a 42-year-old man on suspicion of attempting to murder his 6-year-old son. Shunsuke Okudera, an office employee, is suspected of attempting to strangle his son to death at their home at around 11 p.m. on Sunday. [Dec. 29, 2015 - 06:37AM JST]
Childcare employee suspected of abusing infants in Nagoya
A female childcare employee in her 20s who worked at Nichii Kids Nagasuka Nursery School is suspected of repeatedly abusing infants at the facility. [Dec. 29, 2015 - 04:11AM JST]
Man fleeing after beating ex-wife hit, killed by police car in Aichi
A 71-year-old man who beat his 74-year-old ex-wife on Sunday morning and then fled their home in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, died after being hit by a police patrol car on an expressway. [Dec. 28, 2015 - 06:28AM JST]
72-year-old man arrested over death of bedridden wife
A 72-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of killing his bedridden wife at their home in Yachiyo City, Chiba Prefecture. According to police, Shigeki Fudo has been beating his wife, punching her in the face since mid-November... when police visited Fudo’s residence, Yachiyo was found dead, lying face up beside a kotatsu table. Police said Yachiyo had been suffering from a brain debilitating disease for the past two years. He said he got irritated and started punching her and that he found her dead on Tuesday morning. [Dec. 18, 2015 - 06:36AM JST]
Man arrested over deaths of two daughters
Police in Sodegaura, Chiba Prefecture, have arrested a 46-year-old man on suspicion of killing his two daughters by carbon monoxide poisoning. Nobuya Amaha, an office worker, is suspected of burning coal briquettes in the bathroom. [Dec. 17, 2015 - 02:31PM JST]
To be fair, it is highly likely that most of the accused were perhaps either distressed as a result of losing various sums of money in the Pachinko parlour or were suffering trauma because they were recently chased by a bee. At the end of the day, Japan’s violent crime issues are perhaps no worse than any other place, but neither are they any better. There are very few places, however, where the love of "telling stories" as a denial mechanism is as deeply ingrained. The Japanese are, after all, so frequently "misunderstood."
There is no crime of a serious nature in Japan… none whatsoever. Well, yes, perhaps the odd person may cause trouble, but as long as they were drunk it’s not really their fault.
What is actually true:
A sampling of very recent crimes from the Japanese media:
Man jumps to death from condo after stabbing wife
A man in his 30s jumped to his death from the 13th floor of a condominium in Tokyo after stabbing his wife, police said. [Jan. 09, 2016 - 03:40PM JST]
Newborn baby girl dies after being found in dental clinic toilet
A newborn baby girl was found in the toilet at a dental clinic in a building in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Thursday. The baby was taken to hospital where she was confirmed dead. [Jan. 08, 2016 - 03:37PM JST]
Man arrested for sticking chopsticks in daughter’s ear
Police in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, have arrested a 51-year-old public servant on suspicion of injuring his daughter by sticking chopsticks into her ear. [Jan. 07, 2016 - 03:15PM JST]
Serial underwear thief re-arrested for assaulting woman
A 25-year-old unemployed man charged with stealing women’s underwear has been re-arrested on suspicion of assaulting a woman and snatching her underwear on a street in Nankoku city, Kochi Prefecture. [Jan. 07, 2016 - 05:55AM JST]
4 men arrested over drowning of 17-year-old youth
Four men have been arrested on suspicion of causing the death of a 17-year-old youth by making him fall into a river in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture. [Jan. 06, 2016 - 06:55AM JST]
29-year-old Osaka woman arrested for cutting up a corpse and scattering the pieces in her residence.
At approximately 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, police searched the apartment of Terumi Morishima, an illustrator, and found a skull and other body parts inside the bathroom and a freezer. Police believe the remains are those of a 25-year-old female part-time worker, who had been declared missing. Morishima, who has been charged with destruction and abandoning a corpse, declined to comment on the charges. “There is a skull is in my room, but I don’t want to talk about it,” the suspect was quoted by police. [Dec. 29, 2015 - 10:37AM JST]
42-yr-old man arrested for attempting to strangle 6-yr-old son to death
Police in Yokohama said Monday they have arrested a 42-year-old man on suspicion of attempting to murder his 6-year-old son. Shunsuke Okudera, an office employee, is suspected of attempting to strangle his son to death at their home at around 11 p.m. on Sunday. [Dec. 29, 2015 - 06:37AM JST]
Childcare employee suspected of abusing infants in Nagoya
A female childcare employee in her 20s who worked at Nichii Kids Nagasuka Nursery School is suspected of repeatedly abusing infants at the facility. [Dec. 29, 2015 - 04:11AM JST]
Man fleeing after beating ex-wife hit, killed by police car in Aichi
A 71-year-old man who beat his 74-year-old ex-wife on Sunday morning and then fled their home in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, died after being hit by a police patrol car on an expressway. [Dec. 28, 2015 - 06:28AM JST]
72-year-old man arrested over death of bedridden wife
A 72-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of killing his bedridden wife at their home in Yachiyo City, Chiba Prefecture. According to police, Shigeki Fudo has been beating his wife, punching her in the face since mid-November... when police visited Fudo’s residence, Yachiyo was found dead, lying face up beside a kotatsu table. Police said Yachiyo had been suffering from a brain debilitating disease for the past two years. He said he got irritated and started punching her and that he found her dead on Tuesday morning. [Dec. 18, 2015 - 06:36AM JST]
Man arrested over deaths of two daughters
Police in Sodegaura, Chiba Prefecture, have arrested a 46-year-old man on suspicion of killing his two daughters by carbon monoxide poisoning. Nobuya Amaha, an office worker, is suspected of burning coal briquettes in the bathroom. [Dec. 17, 2015 - 02:31PM JST]
To be fair, it is highly likely that most of the accused were perhaps either distressed as a result of losing various sums of money in the Pachinko parlour or were suffering trauma because they were recently chased by a bee. At the end of the day, Japan’s violent crime issues are perhaps no worse than any other place, but neither are they any better. There are very few places, however, where the love of "telling stories" as a denial mechanism is as deeply ingrained. The Japanese are, after all, so frequently "misunderstood."
