Reaction
The murder sparked an ongoing debate in Japan about 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. The killer was considered to be normal before the incident, which made the public more anxious.
Members of the Japanese Diet, such as Kiichi Inoue and Sadakazu Tanigaki, came under heavy criticism for comments made in the wake of the killing. Inoue was criticized for referring to Girl A as genki (vigorous, lively) due to the word's usual positive connotations. Sadakazu Tanigaki was criticized for referring to the method of killing, slitting of the throat, as a "manly" crime.
Akio Mori cited this case in support of his controversial "game brain" theory, which has been criticized as "superstition". The killer was reported to be a fan of the death-themed flash animation "Red Room", an assertion used in support of the theory.
At the March 18, 2005 Okubo Elementary graduation, students were given a graduation album with a blank page on which they could place pictures of Mitarai, the killer, or class pictures containing both in honor of Mitarai's death. Mitarai was posthumously awarded a graduation certificate, which her father accepted on her behalf. The killer was also awarded a certificate, as one is required in Japan in order to enter junior high, and the school believed it would assist in her "reintegration into society".
Read more about this topic: Sasebo Slashing
Famous quotes containing the word reaction:
“Christianity was only a very strong and singularly well-timed Salvation Army movement that happened to receive help from an unusual and highly dramatic incident. It was a Puritan reaction in an age when, no doubt, a Puritan reaction was much wanted; but like all sudden violent reactions, it soon wanted reacting against.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)
“The excessive increase of anything often causes a reaction in the opposite direction.”
—Plato (c. 427–347 B.C.)
“More and more, when faced with the world of men, the only reaction is one of individualism. Man alone is an end unto himself. Everything one tries to do for the common good ends in failure.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)