News On Japan

Zama serial-murder suspect used Twitter to prey upon young suicidal women

Nov 02, 2017 (Japan Times) - Takahiro Shiraishi, a 27-year-old man allegedly behind one of the nation’s most gruesome serial murders in recent years, preyed upon suicidal victims through twitter, offering them assistance of sorts.

But it was dark and deadly kind of help.

According to investigators, Shiraishi created an account under the username "hangingpro" with a bio that describes a desire to spread the user's supposed expertise about hanging. The profile photo shows a manga-like illustration of a young man wearing a necktie made of a hanging rope. The character's neck and wrist show scars.

The profile adds: "I want to help people who are really in pain. Please DM me anytime."

One of the account's tweets, posted on Oct. 21, discussed victims of bullying as well as those who have attempted suicide.

"Bullying is everywhere, in school and at work," the post read. "There must be many people in society who are suffering after attempting suicides, though their cases are not reported in the news. I want to help such people."

The nation --- known for its low crime rate --- continues to reel from the shocking discovery on Tuesday of nine dismembered bodies at Shiraishi's apartment the residential suburb of Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture.

The Mainichi Shimbun has reported that two of the bodies showed signs of strangulation, one had broken neck bones and another had bleeding patterns typically associated with choking.

It is the first high-profile mass murder case in the nation since last year in July when a man went on a knife rampage at a care facility for the intellectually disabled went on a knife rampage, killing 19 people

Shiraishi was arrested the same day on an initial suspicion of mutilating a corpse of unknown identity and placing it in a cold-storage container sometime between Aug. 22 and Oct. 30.

Shiraishi has said money was among his motives, telling police he took ¥500,000 ($4,410) from one of his victims. He also admitted to assaulting some of the women with the intent of raping them, according to police.

Source: ANNnewsCH

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Japan began applying a new numerical alcohol threshold for dangerous driving offenses on July 21, introducing a clearer standard for cases involving impaired driving that could lead to fatal accidents.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government approved its first annual basic economic and fiscal policy on Tuesday, pledging "responsible and proactive fiscal policy" and envisioning about 370 trillion yen in public- and private-sector investment in strategic industries through fiscal 2040.

A covert network of shuttle tankers is carrying crude through the increasingly dangerous Strait of Hormuz as renewed fighting between the United States and Iran disrupts shipping and raises concerns over how Japan will secure the oil it needs.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has criticized moves by Japanese and Ukrainian companies to cooperate on drone technology, warning that such ties would be regarded by Moscow as a "clear hostile act."

The rainy season ended in the Kanto-Koshin and Tokai regions on July 20 as strengthening high pressure brought intense heat across Japan, with temperatures forecast to reach 38 C in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, and Kofu.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

A police officer fired a warning shot into the air after a 42-year-old woman approached officers while pointing a kitchen knife at them on a street in Eniwa, Hokkaido, on July 17.

A 45-year-old man was arrested early July 20 after allegedly crashing a passenger car into a convenience store in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and walking around the parking lot carrying a kitchen knife and a golf club.

A 42-year-old man was arrested after allegedly driving under the influence and intentionally ramming a motorcycle in Togitsu, Nagasaki Prefecture, leaving its rider seriously injured.

More than a dozen people were injured after a massive rope suddenly snapped during a tug-of-war at a festival in Kitami, Hokkaido, sending participants falling backward onto an asphalt road.

A public housing complex in Aichi Prefecture where about 70% of households are occupied by foreign residents is showing signs of improvement after introducing multilingual communication, foreign-led neighborhood activities and a 3,000-yen fine for residents who skip community cleaning duties.

A fire that broke out at the long-established Echigo Tsurukame sake brewery in a densely populated residential district of Niigata City on July 19 destroyed the brewery and spread to at least six nearby homes, with firefighters still unable to declare the blaze fully extinguished by noon on July 20.

Two people found dead in a collapsed home following a landslide in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, have been identified as a married couple in their 60s who lived at the property, city officials said.

Bacteria found in excrement on the uniform of a former nurse arrested on suspicion of killing a hospital patient by contaminating his intravenous drip matched bacteria detected in the victim's blood, investigators have found.