13-year-old Shimane boy in police custody after admitting to killing father with fishing knife
SHIMANE —
A 13-year-old boy has been taken into police custody, accused of killing his 43-year-old father with a fishing knife in Izumo City education board. The second-year junior high school boy has admitted to stabbing his father, police said Wednesday.
According to police, the boy’s mother and older brother both left home for work at around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, and the boy is believed to have attacked his father shortly after this time. Afterwards, he went to school at about 8.20 a.m. He attended his morning classes as usual but was escorted out of school by police just after noon. Police said they had received a call from the victim’s business acquaintance who discovered the body after making a house call.
A fishing knife with a 12-cm blade was found beside the victim’s body. None of the boy’s family members had seen it before, police said.
A member of the Izumo City education board said the boy ran away from home temporarily in October last year and that he had told a school counselor the following month that his father had gotten angry with him over his academic results. The board member also said one of the boy’s teachers noticed last month that the boy’s concentration levels were down and that he appeared agitated at times.
As the boy is under 14 years of age, he cannot be held criminally responsible under the Japanese Penal Code, and he has been referred to a juvenile welfare office.
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24 Comments
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smithinjapan
Disgusting that the young man cannot be held criminally responsible. He'll be out in a few years and can do it again. At the very least he should be put in the funny farm.
This whole, "I was upset because he scolded me over my grades, so I killed him" is utterly ridiculous. It seems a whole lot of people, and sorry to generalize but in Japan this seems to be happening all the time of late, know ZERO value in human life, and kill others over the stupidest, if any, reason. What the hell do they think will happen after?!?
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bobbafett
well looks like he took matters into his own hands and settled his fathers hash.
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pawatan
I don't think he'll be killing his father again.
And why should a 13-year old be held criminally responsible? They're not responsible for any other aspect of their lives. They're either responsible members of society or they aren't, and if they aren't they shouldn't be criminally responsible either.
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timorborder
Gutted like a fish!!!!
Think about that as you chew your tuna sandwich.
According to the Japanese press, this boy actually planned the whole event in some detail before-hand, working out when to attack (after everyone had left the house) and what he would need. All in all, a rather calculating little chap. Considering this, although I don't think he should be charged as an adult, nevertheless this boy should be placed and kept on a watch list for a very long time to come.
Just another day in Japan folks.
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griff
remind me why people start families, again?
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gogogo
Japanese youth need some serious tough love
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Molenir
Yeah, as pawatan said, he won't be killing his father again. Back in my home state of Arizona, theres an 8 year old kid who murdered his father and his fathers friend. They have no idea what to do with the kid.
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bamboohat
Whatever happens to this kid, he will likely be responsible for many more crimes. Perhaps if they actually did some serious psychological work on him, he might be, ahem, rehabilitated. But this is Japan, and the only psychological counseling he'll get is some flunky in white coat getting him to admit that what he did was wrong.
No university, no decent job, this dude is set for life to live in the underclass of Japan that has been ignored for too long, and is starting to wake up and will likely never sleep again.
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Den Den
Why did he go to school and study after the incident, if the reason was his ex-father beating him for low grades? Surely the stress is now gone?
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saborichan
Denden, he went to school because if he didn't turn up, there'd be a house call or a visit by about 9:30 or 10am.
What a chilling thought to think you'd spent the morning with someone who'd just done such a thing !
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kirakira25
For love. Something that I suspect was sadly lacking in this boys life.
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BeaverCleaver
Better ban long knives. Again. For good measure.
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Antonios_M
What's going on with families here?
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womanforwomen
I cannot imagine what could have triggered off so much anger in this 13 year old child to go to this extent.Father beating him for low grades is one thing, but I imagine that there must be something more that he did not like in his father.These parents have also failed to bring up their child properly.
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Disillusioned
Seems like his father was a complete donkey's butt anyway. He got angry with the kid's academic results, but did he make any attempt to help the kid or did he just take the typical Japanese approach, give the kid a hiding and don't feed him for a week. Hope this kid gets the help he deserves and is placed into a 'real' home.
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TeruSensei
I wonder if he was one of my students, I used to work in Izumo area...
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knews
Maybe the boy was aware of the under 14 rule and thought he'd better act. But, based on the brief details above, it sounds like it was a serious father-son issue. I doubt he's going to turn into a serial killer.
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usaexpat
So is the boy an emotional baby or was his father really abusive? Either this sick little sh*t will not do any serious time because he's a juvenile, back on the street at 20.
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OssanAmerica
WTF is a "fishing knife"? A western style fish fileting knife would have way too thin a blade for stabbing someone to death. Not aware of any Japanese fishing-specific knives. Any knife you take to go fishing would be a "fishing knife".
It's only a generalization because for so long many of us held the image of an essentially crime-free Japan that should be a model for other countries. Checking the news globally, not just Japan, one will see these types of crimes happening all over. At least in Japan a kid can't grab his old man's firearms and clear out his classmates and teachers.
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bogva
The knifes used to slice fish in the kitchen I guess. Can be quite big and scary knife you know... I have quarrels with my boy and he is still 7. But I show a lot of love too. And unlike Japanese families we do kiss our kids. But still I wonder what happens when he is 15?
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LFRAgain
OssanAmerica,
From what I've gathered in the local press (I live about an hour away from Izumo), the kid slit his father's throat. A fishing knife would be ideal for this.
Other details from the local papers mention that the family was living in low-income government housing, which, while a far cry from government projects in other nation's urban areas, does suggest that there may have pressures in the household that go beyond the kid just being a nutter. Why wasn't dad going to work at 8:00 in the morning while the mother was? Why did the kid go out of his way to make sure no other family members were involved?
I'm inclined to believe the father was a special grade of a-hole who pushed his kid to the breaking point. Doesn't excuse the kid, of course, but it's not as cut and dry as this kid simply being a mad dog killer.
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dracpoo2
What did the teachers/councillors do about this?? Intervention would have been good.
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Feekalmatter
I'm surprised they didn't find his Pappy's head adorning the school gate.
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