Japanese Father Kills Son In Fear That He Would Perform A Mass Murder

It is only natural that parents want to protect their kids at all cost, from any form of harm. But that can also mean protecting them from themselves. But would you kill your own child to protect them from themselves? This Japanese father did. And that’s the only way this father thought he could stop a repeat of a tragic event.

Last week, a May 28 stabbing in Tokyo saw two deaths and almost 20 injuries. In the early morning attack, the culprit stabbed many children before killing himself.

76-year-old Hideaki Kumazawa, former agriculture ministry bureaucrat and ambassador to the Czech Republic, said he killed his 44-year-old son, Eiichiro, to stop him from having a violent outbreak.

Eiichiro had reportedly moved back home with his parents a month ago, and lived as a recluse, or hikikomori since.

“My son tended to confine himself at home. He sometimes committed violent acts against me and my wife”, the Japanese police reported Kumazawa saying. “His violence had continued from his junior high school days.” He reportedly held a lighter to his mother's skin, which was just one of his numerous violent outbreaks.

Eiichiro’s hostility escalated on the morning of June 1, when Kumazawa claims he was getting irritated by the noise coming from a nearby elementary school’s sports festival. After his father confronted him, Eiichiro reportedly lost his temper.

This made Kumazawa fear that Eiichiro was capable of repeating the May 28 attacks on the school kids nearby. “I thought that I had to prevent him from turning his anger against the children,” he said, according to the police.

After stabbing his son multiple times in the chest and other parts of his body, Kumuzawa called the police.

Eiichiro’s murder highlights the growing issue of Japan’s hikikomori, which translates literally to “those who retreat,” and are typically part of an ageing demographic who choose to live at home and seclude themselves from society.

Although people who shy away from regular interaction are usually harmless, there have been multiple cases where persons identified as hikikomori have had violent outbreaks. For example, the infamous “Otaku Murders” of 1988-89, where Tsutomo Miyazaki abducted and murdered four young girls after being inspired by gruesome scenes from his manga collection.

According to the Japanese Cabinet Office, there are about 541,000 shut-in hikikomori individuals of ages 15 to 39, and some 613,000 individuals from age 40 to 64. There are support services offered to them. One non-profit organisation, STEP Kitakyushu, offers consultations and other support services to the hikikomori.

Miho Tanaka, the director of STEP Kitakyusho told The Mainichi on Kumazawa’s case, that “With both parent and child getting older, perhaps negativity toward his son's situation reached its limit, and the Kawasaki stabbing incident [involving a hikikomori the week before) was the spark to take action."

The hikikomori phenomenon is not only a growing problem in Japan, but across Asia. In Hong Kong, an estimated 140,000 people are living as hikikomori. In such a densely populated city, this often means living their entire lives in tiny rooms in their parent's apartments.

As for Kumazawa’s case, he is expected to stand trial. The South China Morning Post reports that Japanese courts are often lenient with scenarios that have strong case for mercy. Whether Kumazawa is a murderer or a hero is up to individuals to decide, but what can’t be denied is that attention needs to be given to the growing hikikomori population.

Although isolated behaviour is generally harmless, living completely excluded from society takes a toll on one's mental health, which can escalate to something life-threatening for the individual or to others around them. Let’s use this as a reminder to keep aware when friends might be a little withdrawn, and always reach out to those around us that we know could use our support.

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