Killing of Satomi Mitarai
2004 Japanese murder
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The "Sasebo slashing" (Japanese: 佐世保小6女児同級生殺害事件, Hepburn: Sasebo shōroku joji dōkyūsei satsugai jiken),[1] also known as the Nevada-tan murder, was the murder of a 12-year-old Japanese schoolgirl, Satomi Mitarai (御手洗 怜美, Mitarai Satomi), by an 11-year-old female classmate, "Girl A" (a common placeholder name for juvenile female criminals in Japan).[2] The murder occurred on June 1, 2004, at an elementary school in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture. The murderer slit Mitarai's throat and arms with a box cutter.[3]
| Sasebo slashing | |
|---|---|
 Okubo Elementary School, the site of the murder (pictured on 2011) | |
| Location | Okubo Elementary School, Higashiokubocho, Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan |
| Date | June 1, 2004 |
Attack type | Murder |
| Weapon | Utility knife |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Victim | Satomi Mitarai, 12 |
| Perpetrator | Girl A, 11 |
The killer's name was not released to the press, as per Japanese legal procedures prohibiting the identification of juvenile offenders;[4] the Nagasaki District Legal Affairs Bureau cautioned Internet users against revealing her photos.[5] Members of the Japanese Internet community 2channel read a name on a classroom drawing believed to be made by Girl A, and publicized the name on June 18, 2004.[5][6][not in body]
The incident sparked discussions about lowering the age of criminal responsibility in Japan.
Murder
On June 1, 2004, 12:15 PM, at Okubo Elementary School in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, as break time started, between 15 and 35 minutes past the hour, Girl A called a 12-year-old classmate, Satomi Mitarai, to an empty classroom approximately 50 meters north of the 6th-grade classroom, reportedly by saying "Your attitude is insolent" and "Come here for a moment".[7][8][9] Girl A closed the curtains and had Mitarai sit on a chair while covering her eyes, Girl A slit Mitarai's throat and arms with a box cutter from behind, Mitarai attempted to stand up and wave her hands in an attempt to resist, but Girl A continued slashing her several times and reportedly watched her bleed to ensure her death.[10] She returned to her classroom with her clothes covered in blood.[11] Her teacher checked her arms and hands for wounds; she found none and demanded an answer. Girl A allegedly responded, "It's not my blood. It's not me." The teacher then discovered Mitarai's body.[12]
After being taken into custody, Girl A reportedly confessed to the crime, saying, "I am sorry, I am sorry," to police officers.[13] She spent the night at the police station, often crying, and refusing to eat or drink. Girl A confessed that she and Mitarai used to be close friends, but their relationship ended as a result of messages left on the (now deactivated) chatroom site Cafesta.[14] Girl A claimed that Mitarai slandered her[15] by commenting on her weight and calling her a "goody-goody".
On September 15, 2004, disregarding her young age, a Japanese Family Court ruled to institutionalize Girl A because of the severity of the crime.[16] She was sent to a reformatory facility in Tochigi Prefecture.[17] The Nagasaki family court originally sentenced Girl A to two years of involuntary commitment; the sentence was extended by two years in September 2006, following a psychological evaluation.[18] On May 29, 2008, local authorities announced that they did not seek an additional sentence.[19]
Because of her issues with communication and obsessive interests, Girl A was diagnosed after the murder with Asperger syndrome.[20]
Reaction
The killing provoked a debate in Japan whether the age of criminal responsibility, lowered from 16 to 14 in 2000 due to the 1997 Kobe child murders, needed to be lowered again.[21] Girl A was considered to be a normal and well-adjusted child before the incident,[22] which made the public more anxious.[23]
Members of the Japanese Diet, such as Kiichi Inoue and Sadakazu Tanigaki, came under criticism for comments made in the wake of the killing.[24] Inoue was criticized for referring to Girl A as genki (vigorous, lively).[25] Tanigaki was criticized for referring to the method of killing, slitting of the throat, as a "manly" act.[26]
Girl A became the subject of an Internet meme on Japanese web communities such as 2channel. She was nicknamed "Nevada-tan" because a class photograph showed a young girl believed to be her wearing a University of Nevada, Reno sweatshirt, with "-tan" being a childlike pronunciation of the Japanese honorific suffix "-chan", generally used to refer to young girls.[27][28]
Akio Mori cited the case in support of his controversial "game brain" theory,[29] which has been criticized as pseudoscience.[30] Girl A was reported to be a fan of the death-themed Flash animation "Red Room",[31] a claim used in support of the theory. Girl A had also read the controversial novel Battle Royale and had seen its film adaptation, which centers on young students fighting to the death.[32]
On March 18, 2005, during the Okubo Elementary graduation ceremony, students were given a graduation album with a blank page in honor of Mitarai's death, on which they could put pictures of Mitarai, Girl A, or class pictures with both girls.[33] Mitarai was posthumously awarded a graduation certificate, which her father accepted on her behalf. Girl A was also awarded a certificate, as one is required in Japan in order to enter middle school, and the school believed it would aid her "reintegration into society".[34]
In other media
In 2007, German rock band Panik renamed themselves "Nevada Tan".[35][28] They changed back to the original name in 2008 due to a court dispute with their old producers and managers.[36][37][35]
On October 24, 2019, an audio play named Nevada-Tan was released on Audible, written by Leah Nanako Winkler and directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel. It follows Nick, a young man struggling to escape his loneliness and isolation in the aftermath of the Columbine High School massacre, who develops an obsession with Girl A.[38][39][40]
See also
- Murder of Aiwa Matsuo, a 2014 murder in Sasebo
- 2007 Sasebo shooting, a 2007 mass homicide in Sasebo
