Fukuda orders investigation into social background of man held in Akihabara killings

Monday 09th June, 04:43 PM JST

TOKYO —

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda instructed State Minister Shinya Izumi on Monday to thoroughly investigate the fatal stabbing rampage on Sunday, including the social background of the suspect, officials said. Izumi is supervising Japan’s police forces as chairman of the National Public Safety Commission.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura told a morning news conference that tougher controls on knives might be required. ‘‘The swords and firearms control law bans anyone from carrying more than 6-cm-long knives without due reason. The suspect carried a 13-cm one without due reason. We need to consider toughening controls,’’ the top government spokesman said.

Latest 15 of 52 Total Comments Show All

bandogeek at 12:28 AM JST - 10th June

Placing stricter bans and rules on things such as knives won't stop the people who are actually trying to use them to harm another. They will obtain the weapon if they seriously wanted to.
jake_ at 12:42 AM JST - 10th June

All knives, vidoe games, and trucks should be banned.
KitsuneYoukai at 12:45 AM JST - 10th June

On IM news a Japanese criminal psychologist from Tokyo's Institute of Technology stated that the reason for many of these type killings is the sense of being a failure. That Japan's obsession with exam grades make many feel like that. Also, the decline of the extended family with loss of support for troubled teens. According to him, "Japan has entered into a period of selfishness." So in feeling like they can do anything and ultimately failing multiple times they regain their sense of self through crime. This is very sad and disturbing as well. This is a Japanese giving his evaluation not a foreigner. At least this is finally coming out from trained people in the area of mental health.
telecasterplayer at 12:54 AM JST - 10th June

It's great that there's an interest in discovering what led up to this episode, but the involvement of politicians doesn't bode well.
romulus3 at 01:31 AM JST - 10th June

a nut will always be a nut. video games or none will never change that. I believe that Ted Bundy blamed a few porno mags he found at the dump. after a while they were not hard enough for him to get off, so he went a bit deeper. rape mags, BSD, snuff movies and hello a serial killer is born.

no Ted was the nut. the billions of others who got into porn did not become serial killers. No need to blame video games for this guy either. it comes right back to the individual being just plain nuts from minute one. so lets just except the defects in out collective DNA, cry a bit, have a drink, and say RIP to the victims and forget about it because there is more to come, more to rant about and plenty more to mourn.

a nut is born a nut. church, mother, father, porn, video games, alcohol, drugs, guns, knives etc wield the blame for genetic faults that we can not quite fix yet. thats all.
KitsuneYoukai at 03:40 AM JST - 10th June

So say the "experts" on this posting...
sdpat11 at 06:32 AM JST - 10th June

Knife Control? Is it going to be like the non-sense gun control of the United States? Why don't we treat mental illnesses better and ease the conformist societal order instead of blaming the knives. So, is the government going to tell the people how many knives each household can possess? LOL sadly.
aikankei at 06:58 AM JST - 10th June

Japan is still safe. There are nuts in every country. Japan has its share. The issue is, once again, Japanese authorities are being reactive, not proactive. Why now are they only talking about banning 13 cm knives....why not years ago? Part of Japan`s long-term problem is looking into the future and planning for it.
outofmydepth at 07:43 AM JST - 10th June

i think that p.m. fukuda should look into SOCIETY`s background. too many people are marginalized in this society. it leads to isolation, loneliness and mental/psycological problems.
Hughgarse at 02:49 PM JST - 10th June

not selling- C-A-R-R-Y-I-N-G Niku

you have to carry it out of the store do you not?
westurn at 03:05 PM JST - 10th June

Fukuda is on the right track here, by first admitting that there is definitely a social problem here in Japan. The previous prime minister, Koizumi, clearly stated before the end of his tenure that Japan was "no longer a safe country" ! Why you newbies to this nation would have the audacity to question his views raises eyebrows. I for one wholeheartedly agree. There are so many things to get out in the open, but lets be honest, Kato "is" the typical Japanese person. The info coming in indicates he has typical working hours, worked for a typical company, pretty much led a typical lifestyle with his manga, instant noodles, and obsession with his cell phone... nothing out of the ordinary, no matter how you try to swing it. So lets pick apart the problems here, all these suspect social norms here in Japan that are leading people to murder each other at alarming rates !

Kato's Job: He worked at a Toyota factory putting together auto components. The yomiuri stated that his hourly income was 1,300 yen per hour... but his average monthly salary was 300,000 yen ! Do the math kids... considering Toyota doesn't pay overtime wages, this guy had to be putting 11-12 hour days of work. Add an hour for unpaid lunch and break times, an hour commute one way or another and ... viola, a "corporate slave" thats devotes 14-15 hours a day to Japan Inc. !

Kato's Manga obsession: Kato was clearly influenced by images he found in Manga. And what better place to live out those violent images than Akihabara... which by the way has cleared the streets of all "maid cafe" girls today ! Hmmm, wonder why ? In any case, this guy had all the makings of an "otaku", I'm sure further details are coming. I recall one poster asking if being an otaku or cosplay fanatic was illegal... lets hope it becomes so !

Kato's cell phone obsession: We all know by now the guy was pretty much in communication with himself on his cell phone. Again, research indicates that these products are extremely dangerous and are beginning to show clear evidence of behaviour disorders when used by children.

Kato's diet ? I'm sure the typical factory workers... instant noodles ! Low in nutrients high in fats and salts. I'm willing to bet an apple a day would do wonders for his mental well being... provided he got the chemical free ones !

To summarize, Kato is not unique ! He is the typical Nihonjin. One that works too long, has no friends, is self absorbed, and engages in self destructive behaviour. I say this because everyone that talks about Kato, like all the other knife weilding murderers lately, that he was a quiet, kind, and gentle person... just like all of us !
greensatindress at 03:08 PM JST - 10th June

I complete agree with the above comment by 'westurn'. Couldn't have said it better.
cleo at 03:30 PM JST - 10th June

Kato is not unique ! He is the typical Nihonjin.

Yes, that's why all 120 million of them are running around cutting up their neighbours....have to step over bodies every time I go outside.

everyone that talks about Kato, like all the other knife weilding murderers lately, that he was a quiet, kind, and gentle person...

I haven't seen a single report on the TV about him being 'quiet, kind and gentle'. I have seen reports about him being 'kireyasui' and writing weird things in his school yearbook.
westurn at 03:38 PM JST - 10th June

"I haven't seen a single report on the TV about him being 'quiet, kind and gentle'."

How typical is that of Cleo to "reword" the comments of others for her ownagenda. Um Cleo, I said nothing about "TV" reports ! But if you open page two of todays yomiuri you will find this:

"A colleague, 43, expressed surprise at the killings, saying, "He was rather quiet and gentle, so I could hardly believe he was the person that commited all these murders" !

Lemme guess... no yomiuri deliveries in T'chigi ? Again Cleo, stop trying to tell us about life in the big city from the breakfast table of your quiet country home ! You are really out of touch with the whackos and sick b'stards that roam the mean streets here. I'm sorry if your "cognitive dissonance" is taking a beating.... but Japan is one frightening place to live today. And trust me, the next Kato is out there and planning his revenge on society as we type away ! Kowaiii !
cleo at 04:00 PM JST - 10th June

westurn - Sorry, no yomiuri deliveries to the Cleo household, can't stand their lowbrow, yakkish salesmen.

As for rewording your comments - you did say 'everyone'. Not just 'one person they interviewed for the yomiuri'. Last time I checked, 'everyone' included the folk they interview on the telly as well as the ones they interview for the newspapers..