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A 40-year-old man, his 36-year-old wife and their 3-year-old daughter have been found dead in their house in Hiroshima in what police believe was a murder-suicide.
According to police, the bodies of Akinobu Masuda, a company employee, his wife Mayuko and their daughter were found Friday at their home in Asa Ward, Fuji TV reported. At around 11:15 a.m., a neighbor noticed a broken bottle and some blood-stained items, including a wristwatch, near the family’s small truck and knocked on the door to see if everything was alright. When he got no answer, he became concerned and called 110.
Police said Mayuko had been stabbed in the back several times, while her husband had knife wounds to his stomach and neck. Akinobu’s body was in the first-floor bathroom. Mayuko’s body was found in the hallway and the daughter’s body ― also with knife wounds ― was found in her second-floor room. A blood-stained knife was lying on the floor.
Police said the front door was locked and there were no signs of forced entry into the house.
17 Comments
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Ted Maddox
I don't know man, sounds more like a home invader case than a murder-suicide. That's an awfully painful way to go. And usually time doesn't get that tough until your late 50s or early 60s, retrenched, broke, depressed and have 3 children, 2 of which are mentally challenged. A young couple with one toddler should be the easiest time of their life unless the man has a long history of mental illness.
Strangerland
I know people claim it. No one has ever shown they actually know what they are talking about. And in debate class, it was never taught in debating class that “...and you know it” as being a valid debate point.
Muratafan
Yes, the murder rate is incredibly low in Japan and that is why THESE types of murders are reported, because there are so few murders to begin with.
smithinjapan
Strangerland: "Really? Since you’re indicating Japan is not in fact a, in your words, safety country, how does it compare to other countries in regards to the numbers of these murders?"
It's incredibly high when it comes to parents murdering their kids, and you know it, hence leaving out "family" when you asked about murder rates in general. But feel free to tell us in which developed nations it's higher... you won't, though.
commanteer
Right. Her mother stabbed herself in the back several times. What sort of crazy person does that?
CaptDingleheimer
What a selfish thought to even think that another human being can't live without you.
Haaa Nemui
For family murder... it’s difficult to find detailed figures but statistics have shown that people are more likely to be killed by a member of their family than by someone who is a complete stranger.
Strangerland
Are you suggesting that any kind of accurate conclusion can be made from the amount times you read about a given crime based on the number of times you read about about it in the news in the various countries? I hope no as that is about as unscientific and illogical a comparison as you could get.
Strangerland
Really? Since you’re indicating Japan is not in fact a, in your words, safety country, how does it compare to other countries in regards to the numbers of these murders?
Spitfire
Vince Black,
You are spot on.
For a 'safety country' these intra-family murder suicides sure do happen a lot.
In most cases the local media won't even report them in the ostensible hope of preventing copy cat cases but in reality to portray Japan has a kind of Utopia.
The same way as a railway suicide is shown as a 'human incident.'
Have a look at tomorrow's news,on TV or in the newspapers,which are still huge over here,and I reckon that most news outlets will skip this one.
Do the hustle
Oh, Japan! Just stop with this ship already! Mental illness is not a problem in Japan. It is cultural! Why can’t the culture as a whole recognize the ridiculous amount if suicides are a direct reflection on how dysfunctional the society really is? Yes, suicides (in general) have dropped by 25% in the last decade or so. I’d read about family murders suicides maybe three or four times a year where I come from, but it seems to be three or four times a month in Japan. That little kid did not deserve to die just because her insane parents thought it was a good idea.
WilliB
Vince Black:
It is just you. Japan has over 100 million people, and the newspaper will not report about all those families that had a normal day. Perspective.
albaleo
Such incidents seem to get reported a lot. Whether there are more cases in Japan than elsewhere is hard to know. There's not much available data. In the US for example, most mass shootings are said to be of family members, and often end with the suicide of the perpetrator. The article below lists three separate familicide incidents in July of last year.
https://www.damemagazine.com/2018/10/18/is-familicide-the-metoo-moment-for-domestic-violence/
oyatoi
“Just another day in Japan... is it just me or does this happen A LOT in Japan? Couldn't just be me”
Wanting Japan to be a more normal country where such things happen far less frequently than they do is one of the things that drives those Japan Unlimited artists which the Government is trying to squelch. More power to these courageous souls for having the guts to take on a power structure that is callously indifferent to societal defects which underpin such tragedies.
Sh1mon M4sada
If it happened anywhere else, there would be national outrage.
Forced by culture to be polite to each other, but the animosity and judgement is always in the background.
I just wish and pray they leave the kids alone, :-(
Vince Black
Just another day in Japan... is it just me or does this happen A LOT in Japan? Couldn't just be me