Section B · Page 10
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, August 27, 1997
"Fortunately, I Was Wrong..."
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Japanese citizens alarmed as number of violent crimes rise at alarming rate
The Associated Press
TOKYO — A woman is arrested after her husband's dismembered corpse is found rotting in their bath tub. A teen-age couple is caught trying to rob a bank. A confesses to randomly assaulting dozens of young women with stones, beer bottles and metal pipes.
And that was just last week.
Japan has an international reputation for safe streets, but this summer has been gruesome — and authorities fear the rise in violence is more than just a seasonal fluke.
The country has seen two of its biggest armored car heists during the past month. In one, robbers got away with $900,000. No arrests have been made.
Throughout the summer, headlines have chilled Japanese because of the frequency of the crimes and the cold-bloodedness displayed by
As for murders, Japan was shocked in June at the arrest of a 14-year-old Kobe boy suspected of killing two younger children.
Japanese long have taken a special pride in crime rates that are among the lowest of the industrialized nations. That sense of security is beginning to erode, however.
In July two men in their 20s were captured after the grisly murders of two young girls; and, this month, by the Bathtub Killing, so named because that is where most of the victim's body was found.
some criminals.
Police arrested a 20-year-old man this month for randomly assaulting dozens of young women in Tokyo. Assaults on homeless people in Tokyo have risen significantly, police said.
"Every day we see hateful murders, crimes against small children and women," read one typically outraged letter recently to the editor of a major newspaper.
"The Japanese used to think that security...could be taken for granted. With all the crime today, they are beginning to have...doubts."
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The recurring involvement of children — as victims and perpetrators — frequently has been noted by commentators as a particularly unnerving aspect of the current rise in crime. Juvenile crime in general was up 21 percent. The 69,646 minors arrested accounted for nearly half of
Shoichiro Takahashi Marketer of personal safety devices
In the meantime, a growing number of Japanese are buying personal safety devices, including mace sprayers disguised as lipstick cases and gadgets for children to send out an ear-splitting distress call.
Summer crime statistics are not compiled, but police this month reported that violent crimes committed by juveniles through the first half of the year jumped nearly 60 percent.
all arrests in Japan through June.
"The Japanese used to think security was like water — that it could be taken for granted," said Shoichiro Takahashi, whose Toa Security Co. markets such goods nationwide.
"With all the crime these days, they are beginning to have some serious doubts."
Attacks on middle-aged or older men were increasing rapidly, as were drug-related crimes, the report said. It urged increased cooperation between schools, parents and police.
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