crime

Ichihashi's book goes on sale; says he hopes to give royalties to Hawker family

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My understanding is that the Hawkers have publicly stated that they are sickened by the book and do not want the money, but want justice instead. Is that not the case?

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I wonder if this book would have gotten the green light had the victim been Japanese.

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I wonder if this book would have gotten the green light had the victim been Japanese.

Had the victim been an attractive 18 year old Japanse woman killed by a foreigner, the govt. and right-wing nuts would never allow the book to be published or sold in Japan. It would never happen. However, in this case the book is published literally overnight.

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DO NOT BUY IT

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same post I sent following email to amazon.com customer center. Just a little thing i can do.

Dear Amazon corporation

I am a Japanese customer who has purchased many books from you and here to tell you how much furious at the fact that your company, amazon.com, Japanese division, amazon.co.jp, is about to sell the book written by a Japanese criminal, Ichihashi, who murdered English woman, raped, tried to hide evidence, and run away, and who is still in jail.

Are you aware that victim's family found this to be disgusting? What you do is nothing but hurt victim's family even further and also I personally feel betrayed by amazon. I would like you to reconsider and stop selling this book immediately.

The book I mentioned is following. ISBN-10: 4344019415 ISBN-13: 978-4344019416

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Sounds like half of it is just made up...bet he was stuck in some crappy 6jo room for most of the time. "He also traveled four times to a tiny island off Okinawa, where he stayed in an abandoned hut, living on fruit and fish he caught and sometimes snakes - a hideout that has never been reported" Yeah right...bunch of bs to sell the book more like it.

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How the hell can this s&^t come out BEFORE this sob is sentenced, wtf!

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Disgraceful.

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What is even more sickening is that it is ranked number 1 on Amazon's best seller list...

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People who buy this book are perverted. I am afraid an underground "cult hero" will be made out of this rapist/killer - just like Issei Sagawa (the famous cannibal who killed and ate the French woman in 1981, but was not Jailed by Japan as he was considered "mentally unfit for trial"). Sagawa went on to appear in sick movies in Japan, and magazines/manga recreating his crimes to satisfy his disgusting "fans". Hopefully, unlike Sagawa, this evil monster will be jailed.

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It is of course morally condemnable, but no judge forbade him to publish a book about his story and as such he is legally allowed to do so. I think it might be a ploy to humanize him before the beginning of the trial. However, this is very risky as it could generate (understandably) a backlash. I am surprised his lawyers did not prevent him from doing so.

I am also afraid he might gain understanding (or even sympathy) from a fringe of the Japanese population. He's already got a fan club, and the TV shows were very factual (not emotional) in the reporting of his capture and then the publishing of this book. You can bet that if the situation was reversed (a foreigner killing a young Japanese girl), there would be an uproar on every TV channel and calls for strong punishment and additional measures to tackle "foreign crime".

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Would this book help to know how certain people think? Especially the ones who have the tendency to commit heinous crimes? That broken down concrete house located in the remote island just before he set out sail looked scary. Not everyone in the right mind dares to stay in a place like that? Probably this was one way for others to get him to open up?

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After wandering around Tokyo, he drifted north to Aomori Prefecture, where he lived homeless, before embarking on a pilgrimage tour of temples on the southwestern island of Shikoku, wishing Hawker could “come back to life.”

It bothers me immensely that this psycho probably drifted right through my neighborhood (I live on one of the pilgrimage routes in Shikoku).

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only in japan, a guy sells a book before trial. Admitting he commited the crime.

i thought he pleaded innocent ?

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whiskeysour: "only in japan, a guy sells a book before trial. Admitting he commited the crime."

Does he actually admit to committing the murder in the book? If so, I'd say they have a pretty solid case against him.

Seriously, this is sick. What kind of nation allows this sicko to have a book published BEFORE he even goes on trial?!? I ask people to refrain from buying it.

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Would this book help to know how certain people think? Especially the ones who have the tendency to commit heinous crimes?

Not really; psychologists already know plenty about what makes narcissistic killers tick, and this book is unlikely to contribute anything new to that field. As for opening up, people like this are just aching to tell their story, and he would have found some way to get it out, to the press or whoever else he could get to listen to him. Google Christian Longo for a similar story. And like Longo, Ichihashi has found his "mission," he's going to give the money from the book sales to her family or to a good cause, so that he can say to himself, "see, I'm really a good person, I do good things. Her death is just an unfortunate side effect." The money doesn't matter to Ichihashi; what matters is that people listen to his story, and see him the way he wants to be seen.

I don't think the nationality of either the killer or the victim matter in the least in this story. People like him exist in every country, and it would have been equally terrible if his victim had been Japanese. I'm sure the fact that he killed her had nothing to do with her nationality, and more to do with his issues--she could have been anybody.

I also think this kind of book would sell in any country. It's unfortunate, but true.

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“could be a valuable document from criminal psychology standpoint”

True. Its like watching interviews of convicts on US television.

The difference is he seems to be eligible for payment. He says he will give it away but I am surprised that he can get paid. In many countries it is illigal for a convict to profit from his crime.

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It's nice to know that if I'm ever jailed I will still have access to a computer to write my great Japanese novel.

But I tend to agree with others who have said that if a foreigner were to rape and kill a Japanese woman and avoid the police for two years that the possibility of having a book published about the crime would be close to zero.

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Did he write this book while in custody or while a fugitive?

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Sorry says he wrote the book in jail should have read more carefully. This seems weird I know of a victim of a crime who was told by the court not to discuss details of the case. Is it so different for an accused?

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This guy is trying every trick available to "show remorse" and generally play on the judge's sympathies.

Anyone thinking of buying this book should bear in mind that when this guy stands up in court one of the things his lawyers will say is, "Our client has shown great remorse, and his book has generated X million yen worth of charitable contributions, which will help countless people in need and may even save lives.".

Basically they'll leverage any money made into an argument that their client has "balanced the scales" at least a bit, possibly even call some witnesses from the charities they donated to about how it changed/saved lives.

I'd advise that no-one buy this book, but clearly it's already too late.

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this is sick

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Bollocks one and all ... The family spent a fortune coming and going so why not let him atone. It won't make a shred of difference to his fate.

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This book is nothing more than a way to get a reduced sentence or even a suspended sentence because the courts here are famous for valuing NJ life much less than jp!! The Japanese government, NHK and all other media in japan should apologize to the family of Lindsey hawker for this travesty being allowed!! Plz remember that recently the BBC had to apologize for praising japan and mr Yamaguchi!! I think that all British in japan should get together, buy this book so the proceeds go to the hawker family and then burn the rubbish on the steps of the diet building as a sign of out total disgust at the "justice system"!! Not just for Lindsey but for all the other NJ who've been murdered here and their killers not charged properly.

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Gentosha official Kanako Oshima said the book “could be a valuable document from criminal psychology standpoint” but declined to comment further.

I'm sure that's what he tells himself, but really it's just a way for him to make pots and pots of money, and he's just glad he got in there before Ichihashi uploaded the whole thing to the internet.

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This is so sickening!! Where is the apology from jp for letting this happen!!!

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Just a quick note. There is only access to pencils and paper while in custody in japan for abot 4 hrs a day. The guards then read all but letters to lawyers are "confidential" this is as memory serves and I'm not sure if every place is the same but guessing they are.

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Sad to see its number one in the best seller list at Amazon Japan.

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Yes I think the UK Embassy shud be writing a whole bunch of letters to govt & j-media seeking apologies BIGTIME!

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Last time I checked, it was still a free world with "freedom of speech" guaranteed. Let him write his book, no-one is forced to buy it.

You can always write a book to counter his if you so desire and publish it.

Personally not sure what his motivation for doing so is as he won't get the money from the sales and I doubt it will make a difference in his trial.

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I think that all British in japan should get together, buy this book so the proceeds go to the hawker family and then burn the rubbish on the steps of the diet building as a sign of out total disgust at the "justice system"!!

No, don't buy the book. If you want to give money to the family, give money to the family. If you want to lodge a protest, perhaps a boycott of booksellers selling the book would be a better idea. The government doesn't have anything to do with this, but the publisher and booksellers do, and buying the book allows them to profit, regardless of what you do with the book.

Personally not sure what his motivation for doing so is as he won't get the money from the sales and I doubt it will make a difference in his trial.

People like that want to tell their "story." His life is a movie, and he is the hero; everyone else is supporting cast. He's just dying to make sure everyone knows his side of the story, couldn't even wait till the trial was over to get it all out there, even though it is likely to hurt his case, since he admits to the crime in the book. I've no doubt that if some enterprising publisher or reporter hadn't snapped it up, he would have just posted it online.

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Sarajshuz25.

You could say the same for movies like "Monster" and many other high-ranking earning movies and books.

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Zenny11,

Exactly, there's nothing unique about this. It happens in every country. Personally I prefer not to support people like him with my money. The salient points will be all over the internet anyway, for the curious, since people like that don't know how to be quiet.

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Charles Manson (co)wrote a book from prison. The USA, the publisher, and every citizen of a country that allows such speech should be ashamed for letting that monster have his story published! Like it or not, this happens all over the world.

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He won't get my money either.

Same time I think it is wrong to raise a Bruhara against bookstores, etc that sell it. If it sells it does, if not it won't. No need to try to deprive people of their choices on how to spend their money.

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Forgot.

The more Bruhara and anti-sentiment is raised the more people will be interest in buying the book and it will keep it in the limelight.

Kinda defeats the objective, IMHO.

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Kaptainkichigai - This "d-bag" still has "rights" because he has still not been found guilty of this crime.

With anyone accused of any crime, I would hope they still have rights up until they have been found guilty. In Japan this may mean his rights (for example of free speech, and to profit from his crime and to write about about what happened to him) are strange to us. Some may say immoral. However they are LEGAL.

I personally suspect he has committed this crime. However I dont think that (while still a suspect) he or anyone else deserves "shanked." That is absolutely barbaric.

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sarahsuz25:"Exactly, there's nothing unique about this. It happens in every country."

Actually I think Canada, USA and a few other EU countries have past laws that forbid prisoners or criminals from profiting from their crimes in just such a manor, I am not sure of the details but there are certain crimes and restrictions.

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Limboinjapan.

Same in japan, he is not allowed to profit from the sales. Hence he needs to give it to charity.

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Complain to your emabssy! Japan has a habit of crying to theirs when they don't like something (Stephen Fry's joke for example) and the country will stop. Complain, make noise and make sure Japan knows this is not okay. None of the Japanese I spoke with think it is okay either and are also sickened by it all.

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Spit on 'em

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@limboinjapan

He's been charged with the murder but not condemned yet. As such, he is still officially innocent until proven guilty by the judges. Therefore he is allowed to publish this book (since no judge deprived him of civil rights yet).

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Moonbeams.

Spit on them.

Hope the bookstore will make you buy all the copies you spoiled. Not a proponent of the book, neither a proponent for illegal actions to prevent the sales.

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Kinda defeats the objective, IMHO.

I was mostly just offering that as an alternative to public burnings of books which have already been purchased.

I disagree that it is pointless, though. It's always good for people to be mindful of the choices they make. I'm sure most people are just buying it from curiosity and don't really think about the harm that can come from giving people like him a public platform from which to spout their crazy (encouraging copycats, for one.) Most likely it won't make bookstores pull the book, but it will at least give people something to think about.

Incidently, I think that my feelings would be different if the book was written by the psychologist who interviewed him, or his defense lawyer or something. By putting the book out so early he's clearly trying to change the public's mind about what happened and rewrite history to be what he wanted it to be. If a third party wrote about their observations of him, it would be a different matter.

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Piglet:"He's been charged with the murder but not condemned yet. As such, he is still officially innocent until proven guilty by the judges. Therefore he is allowed to publish this book (since no judge deprived him of civil rights yet)."

That is true but if my memory serve me correctly at least in Canada and the USA there are provisions for such a situation and any earnings would be held in escrow until a verdict and if found guilty the money goes to into a victims fund.

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limboinjapan

Yes, in other countries they usually go through the media, or someone else writes the book for them. But they still do whatever they can to get the story out there.

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For what its worth this story has been picked up by a lot of other news sites worldwide and is generating a lot of negativity towards Japan.

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'Work, mostly demolition of buildings, was tough, he said, but “this is the price I must pay. Hawker had to suffer more pain.”'--Oh, yeah, we feel so sorry for you because you were on the lam and had to work hard. Publishing a book before his trial is an obvious ploy for sympathy.

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How the hell do the courts now find an unbiased jury?

For the record Amazon are also selling pink Ichihashi wanted T shirts for 2625 yen

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@hime hentai- "With anyone accused of any crime, I would hope they still have rights up until they have been found guilty."-The article states he "admits in a book he wrote in jail that he took her life" He admits he killed her. He doesnt need to be "found" guilty. He ADMITTED IT! He IS guilty. What in the sweet name of all thats holy are you talking about? "accused" "suspect"??? He DID it by his own admission. the Hawkers deserve justice. not people defending the rights of the murderer. Disgusting.

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I might just drop by one of the big bookstores to see what sort of lowlife sick puppy would buy the guy's book.

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burn the book!

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I might just drop by one of the big bookstores to see what sort of lowlife sick puppy would buy the guy's book.

I bet the Jt staff has already bought the book and will feature it in the next Book Review topic :(

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LoveUSA:

" I bet the Jt staff has already bought the book and will feature it in the next Book Review topic :( "

I bet they don´t stoop that low.

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LoveUSA: " I bet the Jt staff has already bought the book and will feature it in the next Book Review topic :( " I bet they don´t stoop that low.

...the bbc already have

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folks I dont give a damn once this low lifes trial is OVER OVER OVER THATS OVER, that he writes his crappola, the FACT he can get this s&^t published before his trial is so WRONG, I am pretty sure most other countries wud never allow something like this before trial.

Japan needs to be thoroughly racked over the coals bigtime for this!!! Shame on the Japan "justice" system, another example of how bad it is.

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Ichihashi committed a horrible crime because his pride was hurt when he was rejected. Men who are rejected can be extremely mean... but the bottom line is, even if you do good or the opposite - use force, once she has rejected you, the woman will never accept you because she simply doesn't like you. So it is better to admit your defeat, heal our broken hear and go on with your life. Ichihashi did wrong and ruined his life and that of Lindsay ... just because of hurt pride or obsession. people who do not accept defeat end up loser writing memoires in jail.

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PS. Actually I read the reviews of his book in amazon. There is one good conclusion from one reader, he wrote that obviously if you have little brain, it is not hard to lift yourself up from a homeless situation...

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Writing this book ticks the last box in Ichihashi's narcissistic sociopath checklist. I have a strong suspicion that when he sees the light of day he'll reoffended... only by that time he'll probably have figured out a way to get away with it. If I were the prosecutors in his case I would definitely employ a psychologist to make such an argument. If a lay jury lets him off lightly his next victims blood will be on their hands. Plain and simple his actions prove again and again that he is dangerous and should not be walking the streets with us normal people.

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"The big news today was the football" they said at the end of NHK News Watch 9 tonight, after conspicuously failing to mention the new #1 bestseller. Comedy show on the other side of the planet, though...

Gratifyingly, though, Ichihashi's book is running at only 2.5 stars on Amazon at the moment.

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" He ADMITTED IT! He IS guilty."

Well there is very few doubts he is. However, in legal terms, he will be recognized as guilty by the judges at the end of the trial. The fact he admitted it doesn't change anything. Fortunately, no bail could be given in his case. The remaining question is whether he will found guilty of assault, murder or simply abandoning the corpse. I of course hope he will be condemned for murder and be jailed for a very long time.

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Facebook group urging retailers not to carry the book has been created. Address is facebook dot com/pages/Please-Stop-the-Sale-of-Tatsuya-Ichihashis-Book/105324809544098 or search for Please Stop the Sale of Tatsuya Ichihashi's Book

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@KaptainKichigai - So it's "disgusting" to point out that everyone enjoys the rights of due process? Attitudes like that render one unfit for jury duty here in the US, because you'd be unlikely to carefully apply the law (as the judge gives it to you) to the facts (which would be your responsibility to ascertain). If you're not a big fan of due process you might feel more comfortable living in Russia, or Iran. Their governments aren't big fans of due process either.

We online commenters can say he's guilty, but he won't BE guilty UNDER LAW until a court says so. Until then, he's officially considered a "suspect" and, once charged, the "accused."

As other readers have pointed out, "guilty of what" is an open question. He admitted killing her but didn't say whether it was accidental, done in a rage, or deliberate. Different circumstances usually mean different offenses such as manslaughter, negligent homicide, or premeditated murder (to use some US terms). Different offenses warrant different punishments. Those are distinctions for the court to make, and so we need a trial (at which he may plead guilty, or not). In any event, as appealing as simplistic reasoning and trite expressions are to some JT readers, they won't be of much help at trial.

I wonder how much comfort the book will be to the Hawker family. It may have done him good to write it and his claim to have felt remorse and his apology may well be as sincere as he claims. But there may not BE an effective way to ease the pain of that family. Only time will tell. My hope is that the book doesn't make their pain worse.

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He "only" raped/killed a gaijin girl - we can still buy his books and give him money. He is a "safe" and pure Japanese after all.

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I'm just loving this paradox that has been created from the Ichihashi incident...

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Although he claims he will be giving royalties to charity, somehow I doubt the publishing company will. Profiting from murder??? Whether it's legal, part of due process or whatnot, it's still disgusting that his actions are now lining the wallets of....

Gentosha Publishers : keieikikaku@gentosha.co.jp

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From the book:

Inside the cave where he was hiding during the day. The song "Born to be wild" aired on on his radio and he started dancing to it.

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Wow. At least we know he suffered every day on the run. And fortunately this being Japan, he will suffer every day in prison as well, unlike some other countries where prisoners are afforded humane treatment.

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Ichihashi ran, he's guilty of evading arrest. He admitted to killing Hawker, whether it was murder, homicide, or an impossible accident is up to a court to decide.

Stop playing word games here. Of course nobody is legally guilty until a conviction, but guilt has more than just legal definition. I wish they'd stop brainwashing kids with the notion that guilt is somehow completely decided by the law when that is simply a legal concept.

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listed above was facebook page. please consider joining facebook group instead facebook dot com/home.php?sk=group_150415715013596

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After the hullabaloo over the BBC program being rude over the double nuclear bombing victim ...would not this book be equally offensive to the British..should the embassy protest..would the japanese listen..I think not

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He "only" raped/killed a gaijin girl - we can still buy his books and give him money. He is a "safe" and pure Japanese after all.

You have a serious problem. It is a crime and he will pay. But this situation has nothing to deal with the fact that he is a Japanese and Miss Hawker was a foreigner in Japan.

Miss Hawker, please rest in peace and all my heart goes with the family. No parents want to die before their children.

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Oops, I mean after their children

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Recruiter - do you honestly think if the roles were reversed, a foreign rapist/criminal would be allowed to publish/profit from a book released in Japan - before he even went to trial? You and I both know it would (rightly) by stopped. This animal should NOT have the right to freely publish and generate money from this. People should have some respect for the poor Hawker family - they are outraged by this as has been reported. The publication SHOULD be stopped to respect their wishes.

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I don't see anything wrong with him publishing a book. There are many books and movies about the lives of real murderers. He also states that he is not looking to make a profit for himself. I doubt he'd see any money from it any way since he will probably spend the rest of his life behind bars. Since I am interested in psychology, I am interested in his thoughts. I am sure many psychologists and those interested in understanding a criminals thought process are interested. Either way it is such a strange case that someone would have written about it or made a movie about it eventually. I wouldn't be surprised if a few years from now there is a movie made based on it. I know it's not going to be in the book but I want to know why he did it. Was it really an accident and he freaked out and didn't know what to do or was it intentional? Still my condolences to the Hawker family.

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This book is right up there with Mein Kampf on my list of books to read.

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Recruiter, that was obviously a sarcastic comment about why the book has been released at all, directed at the general Japanese public. Get a clue.

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Why people insist on banning this book? Criminal or not (well, not yet, because he isn't convicted yet) he is allowed to write and have his work published.

Simply put, don't like it - don't buy it! I, on the other hand am very curious about his hideouts and how he managed to live off the grid. I am also curious what forced him to commit such a terrible crime.

For those of you who seek a public out cry linking it to Hawkers family's emotions! Snap out of it! You are letting emotions cloud common sense and law, and that is very clear - everybody can write about anything. end of story.

by insisting to ban this book you prioritize emotions over everything else, making yourselves no different that the criminal himself!

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This is absolutely disgusting and the very definition of blood money.

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