Police stand outside a building in which 15 people perished in a fire Wednesday morning.

Osaka arson-murder suspect says he was 'fed up with life'

Wednesday 01st October, 01:38 PM JST

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JapanTruth at 11:36 PM JST - 1st October

Just to be clear. This is not an internet cafe. It is a sex video store where each person can sit down in their own little room, watch porno and do what comes naturally. Little bit darker than an internet cafe and the walls are much higher (usually to the ceiling), so people can't watch you taking care of business.
stipend at 12:03 AM JST - 2nd October

Oh come on, how difficult is it to ensure fire exits stay clear? The fire chief sits at the top of a military structure and the buck stops there. For those who aren't local, I'd hate to guess the number of flagrant fire code violations in any given neighbourhood. It's endemic here.

Is there no association of fire chiefs? Perhaps they could lobby together if they felt they needed help in ENFORCEMENT. Maybe they could pull out colour slides of BURN VICTIMS at speaking engagements and spicen things up, get the message out.

Education. Do they go into schools and teach kids what to do in a fire? Teach that you always need a plan? A family meeting point? We got the buzz went home and told the folks. Haven't seen it here (nor for earthquakes or typhoons, jump in anyone?). And where I grew up we also had the Replace Smoke Detector Battery Day biannually. (smoke detector? what's that??) At least you can buy them here now.

Many of us are so frightfully aware of the hazards I think because we grew up with all these omnipresent awareness programs going on.

And always no. 1 was drop to the floor. That's where the air is. NHK missed their chance with that tonight. Maybe tomorrow night..
stipend at 12:08 AM JST - 2nd October

Apologies all for the ranting above..
Sarge at 12:08 AM JST - 2nd October

"How difficult is it to ensure fire exits say clear?"

Don Quihote has a problem with that to this day. I'm always tripping over junk piled up on the stairways. Then again, I'm a klutz, so...
BlackFlag at 12:43 AM JST - 2nd October

only recently has legislation been passed requiring smoke detectors be fitted in leased and public buildings, a lot of places are yet to catch/just don't care.sadly this will happen again and again
Youdontknow at 02:07 AM JST - 2nd October

It's about time the law put a curb on complicated layouts of buildings. Ever been to a hotel where you couldn't find your way out so easily?
chibaman at 04:04 AM JST - 2nd October

It's about time the law put a curb on complicated layouts of buildings

Well they'll need to level a few of the mountains so Japan has more space, or convince half the urban population to move further out. Might be difficult, crammed into tiny spaces is what they love.

only recently has legislation been passed requiring smoke detectors be fitted

This terekura (telephone club) turned adult video centre/cheap lodging in Namba had smoke detectors installed, it's clear however they didn't work.

And this Kazuhiro Ogawa is a real piece of. Decides he's had enough of it all and sets fire to the contents in his bag, with people sleeping just metres away. Then gets scared once it fires up, and runs out of the store. Kills 15 people. Death penalty coming his way and he deserves it.
IchyaParadise at 07:58 AM JST - 2nd October

Time to get the rope.
CavemanLawyer at 09:03 AM JST - 2nd October

If it were up to me, the guy would spend the rest of his days in small dark cell. Pictures of the people he killed would adorn the walls. The pictures would be behind plexiglass so he cannot deface them and would be brightly lit 24/7. Their names and ages at death would be clearly legible on the picture too.

Over the years, it would be interesting to note how fed up with life he gets, right up until the stress gives him a fatal stroke. --Cirroc
kawabunga at 09:28 AM JST - 2nd October

CavemanLawyer, I agree with you. Only I would add an after pic of the victims who perished in the fire. Think he needs to see those for the rest of his life too!
tmarie at 12:38 PM JST - 2nd October

It doesn't matter what they were doing but as someone else pointed out, painting it as a sex shop lessens the chance of families coming forward and suing.

Yes, the fire department has a job to do but I think the company is too blame. They know the laws. Fire departments can't visit every place everyday to ensure that all is well.
thepro at 12:57 PM JST - 2nd October

Those Don Quixote stores would be death traps too if any fires started in them
stipend at 01:35 PM JST - 2nd October

Street level paper maps here are fascinating. Urban land plots are oddball, irregular, puzzle shaped, keyholed, and landlocked. Unworkable and illegal to build in other countries it's time to start addressing this. Where are the fire chiefs on this issue? Did CATS have two ways out? No. Dead end.

Sarge: Don Quihote has a problem with that to this day.

Rgiht, in their fire people couldn't find the way out. More lives lost.
kavikahi at 10:48 AM JST - 3rd October

‘‘got fed up with life.’’

so why did he escape?

This dude needs help. Too bad he took others.
outofmydepth at 08:28 AM JST - 4th October

what is with the world today. take as many people as possible when you want to "die." yet, sadly enough, these people don`t always really want to die, they just want to be noticed. what a way to get noticed.