Man sent to prosecutors over murder of 3 family members

The prosecutors who failed to charge him for the previous property damages are to blame for this gruesome murders! Police had caught him red handed throwing stones at the car but prosecutors dropped the charges saying insufficient evidence. Then on two other instances there was security camera footage showing the accused damaging the car and again prosecutors dropped charges saying lack of evidence! Now being caught red handed by the police stakeout and security camera footages aren’t enough for prosecutors in Japan to charge evil people. These prosecutors who refused to charge him should be sued and should face criminal charges themselves for their failure in this. Three lives lost because of the incompetence of the prosecutors!

Full background stories are available on other sites such as The Asahi Shinbum, The Mainichi, Japan Times.

Jim, while I agree with you that the prosecutors were lax, even if they charged this guy for vandalizing the car, it would just be a slap on the wrist a small fine or something like that. He would have never been jailed for it. I also read on another site that the family decided not to press charges after one incident. Maybe they thought if they went easy on the guy he'd cool down. Obviously he was severely troubled, had a grudge against these people and nothing was going to stop him. Very sad story, especially to occur on Christmas day!

If somebody damaged my car for the second time, there would most certainly be a serious incident.

I’m curious how the murdered Texan ended up living in Saitama. RIP.

I think he was a clergyman.

Been in Japan since 1974 had his own business.

Members of the board at Temple university.

This may not go well for the people that didn't prosecute the assailant the first few times.

Was their any connection between the killer and the daughter? they are close in age and may be he was after the daughter, there has to be a reason why he was outraged and this could be one.

Mark

Today 09:10 am JST

Was their any connection between the killer and the daughter? they are close in age and may be he was after the daughter, there has to be a reason why he was outraged and this could be one.

Close in age?

Killer is 40 daughter 32 they wouldn't even have been in the same schools at the same time at any point, plus the previous article said she was visiting for Christmas, which means she doesn't live there.

@antiquesaving

They are close enough in age to have known each other and him to have romantic intentions towards her and to be infatuated by her.

Then, he was maybe rejected by her.

Just speculation but quite possible.

Just speculation but quite possible.

Everyone on JT is speculating when it comes to what they daydream as to having happened. We're all reading a tiny bit of information that may or may not have been accurately translated from Japanese, based on unverified information reported to the Japanese press.

Occasionally people's daydreams as to what may have happened end up being what actually happened, in the same way that a broken clock will show the correct time twice a day, purely by coincidence.

Stewart Gale

Today 09:59 am JST

@antiquesaving

> They are close enough in age to have known each other and him to have romantic intentions towards her and to be infatuated by her.

> Then, he was maybe rejected by her.

> Just speculation but quite possible.

A serious mental exercise to get there

He would have been 2 year Jr high by the time she was starting primary school.

But again she wasn't living there as the article started she was visiting for Christmas.

So unless all the previous incidences took place when she was visiting, it seems highly unlikely she was the target.

If anything he being there was bad timing.

I could be wrong but this was not the first time and the daughter didn't live with them.

What set off the nutter, I wonder? What was it about Mr Bishop that enraged the mentally unstable attacker? The really unsettling thing is that every neighbourhood in the country has one of these reclusive Hikikomori...

Deserves the good old gallows ASAP !!..

String him up.....horrible crime. Punish him to the max not the usual Japanese short sentence.

Has anyone noticed how in the crime articles we never get the job mentioned in the first lines (or at all) unless it’s “unemployed”, as if that was an explanation of anything gruesome to follow, but people find it “unbelievable” that they killed someone if the person had a job.

This week alone, seven articles about people killing people, the three where the killers were unemployed it’s immediately mentioned in the first line with the name and age, the other four it’s either casually mentioned somewhere else much later in the article (“he was a company employee “) or not mentioned at all, like here. Very conservative and deterministic approach to crime news.

The suspect, Jun Saito, 40 was arrested three times this year over damage to the victim’s car, but prosecutors could not indict him over the property damage because of insufficient evidence.

"In January, a police officer on a stakeout caught Saito throwing a stone at the car, and he was arrested on suspicion of destruction of property.

But the case was dropped as prosecutors said there was no clear connection between the stone and the scratches on the car."

It was after those incidents, Bishop installed security cameras at his home.

"William Ross Bishop Jr., was born in South Dakota in the United States. For over 40 years since 1974, he had been living in areas of Asia, including Japan, and worked at consulting firms and other places. He has apparently authored some novels as well. "

Spent all of his adult life in Asia and spoke fluent Japanese with an American accent.

According to neighbours he was a friendly, kind, and gentle person.

From reddit.

"Bill Bishop, Bishop & Associates Saitama Prefecture"

“ I have lived and worked in Japan and Asia for over forty years since 1974. I received my BA in Japan and my MA in the US. I speak, read and write Japanese and have a working knowledge of Chinese. I have broad experience in Market Access, Market Development, PR, Communications, government relations, advocacy, economic development, trade promotion and investment attraction across sectors. “

The 32-year-old daughter, Megumi, lived in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward.

Photo of William Rose Bishop.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/photo/44956421

Photo of the victims

https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/bishop-family.jpg

Terrible brutal murders and to die in such a painful way with much hurt and pain for their families.

Jun Saito has been charged with murder and sent to the public prosecutor.

Terrible brutal murders and to die in such a painful way with much hurt and pain for their families.

This story is tragic. If the suspect is found to be guilty I hope he never sees freedom again.

I agree that Saito should never see the outside world again.

As for why he diid it, surely we can not know. Maybe interesting to speculate, but even the victims apparently didn't know the reason.

For those of use who have encountered irate neighbors in Japan, but can't get justice through the police, moving is an option to consider. I have done it before and would do it again.

Crazy neighbors usually can't be stopped.

For those of use who have encountered irate neighbors in Japan, but can't get justice through the police, moving is an option to consider. I have done it before and would do it again.

Actually often it isn't.

When you reach a certain age, no mortgage loan is possible.

In Japan once you retire you even have trouble renting an apartment unless you have a relative to co-sign plus a guarantor.

It is doubly difficult for older foreigners and people without children that are Japanese nationals living in Japan with good jobs because a co-signer and guarantor are often needed.

Fluent Japanese with an American accent? Rather a petty detail!

Racially motivated killing for sure! This nut job should hang and the soonest possible opportunity!

This might be a catalyst for a new law of cracking down on "neighborhood rage". Because they did this with a new law recently for road rage and if you act crazy and aggressive towards other drivers on the road you will get spoken to and even arrested by the cops (and people already have). Maybe nothing would have stopped Saito but...

moving is an option to consider. I have done it before and would do it again.

if there is a new law where the cops come to the door of the crazy neighbor and threaten arrest from their bad behavior alone, 99% of the time it should do the trick and calm things. Probably nothing would have stopped Saito anyway. But getting spoken to and even warned of arrest by the cops of arrest would in most cases get the job done if they pass a new criminal law that addresses stuff like this on the behavior side before it goes way too far with crimes physically committed like what happened with the Bishop family.

Things will have to change and some new law that forbids this kind of bad behavior towards neighbors like the anti road rage law will have to pass eventually.

well that saito certainly looks bewildered....i think even he knows he took whatever it was too far, and that he royally screwed up

Almost all the crime articles today are of family killing other family in Japan.

I wonder if the car was the target, initially? Mr Bishop drove a late-model bright-red Volvo station wagon, (such a beautiful car!) which can be seen on Google Maps. The deranged assailant SAITO, Jun may have been triggered by the sight of an expensive imported vehicle driven by a foreigner; initially he attacked the vehicle by throwing stones at it -- and was then subsequently arrested...

Death penalty would be fine in this instance.

Saito, who lives near the scene, was previously arrested on suspicion of damaging a vehicle at the residence in 2021 but was not prosecuted.

Japan prosecutors really are something.

Let's see if we can wrap ours heads around this. Saito is sent to the prosecutors for vandalism and destruction of property and they release because of "insufficient evidence". Why do I have the sinking feeling they will play the "insufficient evidence" card and just release him again?