Is there a systemic problem in Japan?

Question

Prosecutors get beheading case
A 17-year-old teenager arrested on suspicion of killing and beheading his mother in Fukushima Prefecture was sent to prosecutors Wednesday after evidence was found in his apartment suggesting the murder was premeditated, investigators said.

The woman's dismembered body was found Tuesday on a futon in his apartment in Aizuwakamatsu after the teen showed up at a local police station with the head and said he had killed his mother. A kitchen knife was found near the body.

Although earlier reports said the knife was believed used both to kill the victim and behead her, the youth later told police he purchased a handsaw before the murder, police said.
The investigation so far has found that the youth spent several hours at an Internet cafe — carrying his mom's head in a bag — before taking a taxi to the police station Tuesday morning to turn himself in.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070517a1.html

there seem to have been a number of dismemberments in the news recently (eg. the woman who chopped up her stockbroker husband and distributed parts around tokyo)

it seems that there is also a cluelessness in this 17 year old'ss act, as if it were just like doing chores or homework... nothing emotional

...also the moving away from family to go to a "good" high school is not uncommon... medium-long term separations of family units for work or high school does not seem uncommon in Japan

and I mean systemic (problem with the system), not systematic. fyi Systemic refers to the inter-relatedness and interdependency of parts and people within a system Systematic refers to processes that are repeatable and predictable, rather than anecdotal and episodic.

Thanks Rabbit, though there was the gangster who just shot the Mayor of Nagasaki because his car was damaged at a public contruction site (not quite eye for an eye). While the murder rate is lower, the suicide rate in Japan is double that in the U.S. so I guess my systemic question is as much related to such mental health issues than crime

Is there any connection (mentally or otherwise) to the sword focused history of samurai, seppuku, Mishima, etc.

budo, ijime... etc.

Answer 1

My friend's wife is a practicing psychologist and a teacher. She was asked 10 years ago to conduct seminars in japan. She is a US native and does speak Japanese. She has done this every summer up until their second child was born. The japanese have a habit of putting on a good face and hiding the problems. Being Japanese American myself. I understood when my friend's wife told me that mental health in Japan was almost non existent.

Which made sense, how would it look if you were seeing a psychologist? Would not look good would it?

Even in the Imperial Family, with the inbreeding of marrying cousins, it had weakened the quality of the leaders of Japan. Check the history, that lead to the rise of the Shogun. There were a few addle headed monarchs in the past.

Systemic? Yes, If we don't acknowledge it to you, it don't exist. Well, no wonder there are beheadings, children killing children, etc. Just like in the US, government cuts back support of mental health and you have a bunch of wackos running around like ticking bombs.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Now that you point it out that's not the first time that sort of thing has happened in Japan. In the nineties there was the notorious case of the kid who killed a younger schoolmate and then placed his head on the school gate. However the wide shows play up every gruesome murder so it's probably less common than it seems.

I don't think it has anything to do with right wing politics. It's got more to do with alienation, anomie, etc. IMHO. A lot of young people in Japan today have no sense of purpose. A guy like Mishima had too much sense of purpose.

You probably wouldn't find two high school boys living independently in the US-unless it was a reality show or something! A big criticism of apartheid was that the men had to leave their families behind in the homelands while they went to work in the mines. Japanese people choose to do much the same!

Answer 3

In Japan, just like in many other countries( including mine) mental health and mental problems are still tabooed topic. The ice, however is slowly breaking. Last week I saw two articles about mental health in central newspapers. One was that 1/4 of the middle school students are depressed, and the other discussed the stress among young office workers.
Unfortunately , there is still much to be done. As a foreign student here I have encountered many cases of students with mental problems, but they were either denied counseling ( heard this from its prime source) or the school tried to get rid of them( one such case ended with suicide).
Another typical feature, which is now a subject of a discussion in Japan, is the NIMBY attitude, seen in the article as well. The reason for this discussion became the public rape of a young woman in the train Fukui-Osaka, while most passengers in the car, about 40 ppl, pretended not to see. Hope this will change.

Answer 4

First, Japanese gun laws are very strict, so murders in Japan typically are committed with knives and similar objects, so that aspect is not surprising.

Beheadings are not everyday occurences in Japan. The boy that did this most likely had some sort of mental disorder. Mental healthcare in Japan (and all of Asia) is relatively new, and still not very popular. I suspect that this is the reason behind what he did, and he simply wasn't given proper care and attention (in regards to his mental health). Many of the people in Japan who should be receiving professional attention for their mental health are not. If they have him examined, they will probably find something wrong. He certainly does not represent Japanese society!

Just to put things in perspective, though, Japan is a nation with very low crime rates. The United States has a much higher crime rate, but because of loose gun laws, most murders in the U.S. are shootings.

Answer 5

i agree. my japanese friend told me that in japan, your reputation as a man should be protected. you are under so much pressure at work that if you don't perform well, your boss will tell you what he thinks of you and will lower your self esteem. same with the youth in japan. their parents will tell them how "no good" they are and that what drives them to insanity. govt in japan is not so concerned about this coz they tried to hide this malfunction in the society. what a culture.

Answer 6

I feel the affairs of random fire in the US has similar or more problem.

Answer 7

"systematic problem"? huh? What are you suggesting?