Student held for murder charged with trying to poison two former classmates

there's no rehabilitation here, she's been trying to kill people for years and now has. Pretty much a serial killer mindset. Anything other than life in prison of some form puts society in danger

Prosecutors said they have not yet decided whether to try the suspect as an adult or a minor.

The prosecutors are idiots! There should be no question about this. She is a danger to society and should spend life in prison.

Shukan Shincho said the magazine wanted to publish the suspect’s name and photo because they felt it important that the public know about this particularly brutal case.

I applaud this magazine for doing this. I hope thy keep doing this!

However, some psychologists say that the privacy of juvenile suspects needs to be protected—no matter how serious the alleged crime—otherwise the rehabilitation process will be hampered.

Another killer sympathizer. I wonder if these idiots would continue to misplace their sympathies if it was their mother who was killed by this monster with a hatchet, or their kids who were poisoned with rat poison

That's a scary female

Hold her until her birthday, let her go, follow her, and when she kills somebody you can put her away for good. NOT. The justice system in Japan really needs upgrading. That sacred 20 year old mark lets so many get away with murder and other serious crimes. And the belief that the privacy of a brutal remorseless murderer is so important is beyond words. I'm not a psychologist, but I think somebody who's wanted to kill since she was a child may be beyond help.

Naming and shaming this fruit is a good back up plan just incase she is tried as a minor and get off lightly, The Shukan Shincho i salute you!

A clinical psychopath. This is one situation where watching Dexter would have done someone some good.

leading many media commentators to debate the legal taboo over publishing their names.

You cannot have a "legal taboo". It is either legal or illegal. A taboo refers to a social or religious custom, not a law.

So the question I have is, is it illegal to publish her name or is it merely customary? If it is illegal then the police should take action against the newspaper, because they don't get to decide what laws they enforce. If it is merely customary then it isn't a "legal" anything.

Yubaru is right. Conviction rate is their goal, not justice. A close relative of mine was jailed for a month, endured harsh treatment, endless interrogations, and several blood, urine, and hair tests (all negative) all because somebody mentioned his name when they were arrested.

Hard to believe anyone would do these things, very sad...

Glad her name and pics were published. She deserves what she gets.

Very, very scary person.

Very scary! I suspect this zombie wanted to get a kick out of killing people if it was with a hatchet, or poison. I think this psychopathic criminal should be isolated from the world once and for all, if it's by confining to a mental hospital or doing life.

It would be too late after the next person getting killed.

smithinjapanMay. 17, 2015 - 12:08PM JST This is part of a completely different problem. All the police can do is slap a fine on the publisher, which won't amount to even a tiny fraction of what the publisher has gotten in terms of sales and reputation in publishing the name. There are no serious penalties when it comes to libel, slander, or other illegalities in the media. The 'worst' penalty one of these weekly publications suffered was being forced to retract unsold copies of their magazines smearing Makiko Tanaka's family, and that made it more sought after than ever!

So why haven't they been made to do this? Illegal is illegal. A crime is a crime. The police have incontrovertible evidence that someone broke the law and they're doing ... nothing. That is itself a crime.

The moment we have a society where crimes that some people approve of aren't punished... well, think for a moment about lynchings.

The police don't get to pick and choose which criminals they arrest. End of story.

Yubaru. Why a hospital? Life in prison is vetter with her arms in her back. She will never heal. Shes crazy

she is considered a minor which means media cannot identify suspects under 20 by name or publish their photos.

Right, that is why it is perfectly acceptable to take nude photographs and make porn movies of 18 and 19 year olds and sell it on the market.......

In a society where people are changing, and not for the better. Japan needs to update their judicial system and send a message to these nut jobs. This girl needs the death penalty. Life for a life!

No place in society for someone with this psychological makeup. Life in prison.

Um... investigate this further. My gut feeling tells me that she has been quite successful in the past at not getting caught. We are not dealing with a human being, here. She has became something less than human and needs to be analyzed as such. She is a monster. It has nothing to do with how she was raised.

@ Genki/Flash

An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.

The police don't get to pick and choose which criminals they arrest. End of story.

If you have lived in Japan long enough you should know that this is the way of life here. The cops DO choose, and they typically only arrest folks that they KNOW that they can get a conviction otherwise forget it.

And what steps did police and prosecutors take with these poisonings?

I guess there will not be any deep investigation into that, to avoid shame to those organisations...

She is a danger to society and should spend life in prison.

I agree she is a danger, but prison is not the place for her, she belongs in a hospital where she can get the treatment she obviously needs. If she said she wanted to kill someone from when she was a child I have to ask what kind of upbringing did she have and did her parents notice any changes in her when she was young that could have given them signs that something was wrong.

Frungy: "So the question I have is, is it illegal to publish her name or is it merely customary? If it is illegal then the police should take action against the newspaper, because they don't get to decide what laws they enforce. If it is merely customary then it isn't a "legal" anything."

This is part of a completely different problem. All the police can do is slap a fine on the publisher, which won't amount to even a tiny fraction of what the publisher has gotten in terms of sales and reputation in publishing the name. There are no serious penalties when it comes to libel, slander, or other illegalities in the media. The 'worst' penalty one of these weekly publications suffered was being forced to retract unsold copies of their magazines smearing Makiko Tanaka's family, and that made it more sought after than ever!

That said, I completely agree with and hope they continue to publish the names of such offenders. And I DEFINITELY hope the prosecutors come to their senses and decide once and for all to charge this 'girl' as an adult. She is CLEARLY a danger to society.

Frungy: "So why haven't they been made to do this? Illegal is illegal. A crime is a crime. The police have incontrovertible evidence that someone broke the law and they're doing ... nothing. That is itself a crime."

Hey, I agree and I say go for it -- but all that will result is more sales and publicity until the make the laws stricter and enforce the existence laws and give out stronger punishment. In any case you seem more concerned about a publication breaking the law and printing the name of a murderer than you do the murders and attempted murders themselves!