In the spring of 1997, media across Japan was in a frenzy over the Kobe child murders, in which a 10 year old girl and 11 year old boy were murdered, and several other schoolchildren were assaulted. A 14-year-old junior high school student was arrested for the murders, but under Japan’s Juvenile Law, his identity was protected. Under the pseudonym “Boy A,” he was prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to a juvenile detention facility.
In 2004, he was declared “rehabilitated” and released back into the public, but far from putting the horrible events of the past behind him, he released a “memoir” about the murders in June without the permission of his victim’s parents. Now, he has launched a new home page and paid Q&A website, where he will presumably continue to talk about his crimes. This news has reawakened many netizens’ latent discomfort with the current juvenile crime laws in Japan. Although “Boy A”’s real name was apparently leaked on the Internet many years ago, many feel that without the shield of anonymity, he wouldn’t be so comfortable using his past crimes to make a profit.
From livedoor NEWS:
Kobe Serial Child Murders’ “Boy A” Begins Paid Web Content Delivery
The person who was the juvenile perpetrator in the serial child murder case that occurred in 1997 in Suma-ku, Kobe has launched an official home page, and on October 13 it became clear that he has also started a paid online content delivery service.
In the first installment on October 12, he responds to the questions and opinions that were left on his home page.
As for the reason he started this service, he explained, “Instead of a home page where anyone can come take a look lightheartedly, I established a new, different kind of place where a deeper exchange with the former Boy A, one that intertwines the antennas of the soul, is possible.”
The title is “Former Boy A’s ‘Q & BoyA,’” and the subscription fee is 800 yen a month. It seems he will deliver new content every other Monday.
In June of this year, “Former Boy A” anonymously published “Zekka,” a memoir covering the details of the case and his current mental condition, without the permission of the families of his victims, and bookstores and libraries decided to restrict sales and borrowing of the book one after another. News of his launching a home page spread in September.
Comments from 2ch.net:
ジャストフェイスロック(チベット自治区)＠＼(^o^)／:
The crime business has reached its peak
超竜ボム(やわらか銀行)＠＼(^o^)／:
It’s the end of the world.
ランサルセ(東日本)＠＼(^o^)／:
He’s used the law too much to his own advantage.
ラダームーンサルト(新疆ウイグル自治区)＠＼(^o^)／:
So he hasn’t felt any remorse? That’s too bad.
ジャンピングカラテキック(千葉県)＠＼(^o^)／:
Is he just gonna be like “Oh hellooo everyone, it’s me, Former Boy A”?
キングコングニードロップ(dion軍)＠＼(^o^)／:
Is he gonna do on-the-scene murder coverage, too?
リバースネックブリーカー(チベット自治区)＠＼(^o^)／:
I wonder if this is a second challenge to society. This behavior bears a close resemblance to a letter of responsibility.
キチンシンク(東日本)＠＼(^o^)／:
He has the soul of a show-off and a money-grubber, so it can’t be helped.
ドラゴンスクリュー(SB-iPhone)＠＼(^o^)／:
Someone wrote that he’s probably trying to save up money so he can run away to another country, but something about this really does seem like guilty behavior, right?
毒霧(東京都)＠＼(^o^)／:
So cocky
バックドロップ(長屋)＠＼(^o^)／:
So if you commit the most horrible crimes you can while you’re still a minor, then in the future you can take it easy and make a bunch of money. Thinking that way feels bad, so what he’s doing is not good.
リバースネックブリーカー(長野県【22:08 長野県震度1】)＠＼(^o^)／:
“The subscription fee is 800 yen a month. It seems he will deliver new content every other Monday.“ So it’s 400 yen each time, that’s damn expensive!
ミッドナイトエクスプレス(アラビア)＠＼(^o^)／:
He published a book, so isn’t he receiving plenty of royalties? Is he really trying to make even more money after that? He doesn’t feel the slightest bit of remorse, we should give him the death penalty.
ビッグブーツ(静岡県)＠＼(^o^)／:
Why has he been left at large? His rehabilitation has failed, right? For the safety of our society, somebody do something about this.
魔神風車固め(SB-iPhone)＠＼(^o^)／:
He has been way overprotected from the state. Is this some kind of experiment?
フェイスクラッシャー(大阪府)＠＼(^o^)／:
I find it really hard to tolerate the fact that he’s using his past murders as material to make money off of.
クロイツラス(北海道)＠＼(^o^)／:
This is because the current laws are too soft w Instead of saying it again and again, actually taking action might have some kind of benefit.
魔神風車固め(東京都)＠＼(^o^)／:
Isn’t this asshole just enjoying provoking the family of his victims? It’s revolting.
逆落とし(空)＠＼(^o^)／:
This jerk has made me feel like it wouldn’t even seem strange if he were to murder again tomorrow. Why does he keep trying to come out like this? Maybe he got defiant because his name and picture are being circulated around the internet.
膝靭帯固め(福岡県)＠＼(^o^)／:
The family must wish they could hire a hit man after this.
