Murder of Airi Kinoshita
Encyclopedia
In 2005, , who was a seven year old first grade student from the Japan
ese city of Hiroshima
, was sexually assaulted
and murder
ed by Jose Manuel Torres Yake (born February 1972). He assumed the false name Juan Carlos Pizarro Yagi. Yake was wanted for a child sexual abuse
charge at that time in Peru
.
. The box had been used as packaging for an oven sold in Higashi. Police said they suspected her killer lured Airi away as she was walking home and strangled her soon afterwards. Her schoolbag
was found alongside a road about 300 meters away. She had been carrying a so-called crime prevention buzzer but it was missing when her body was found.
300 people attended her funeral in Yatsushiro
, Kumamoto Prefecture
, her father Kenichi's hometown. The mourners included Ground Self-Defense Force members who served with Kenichi. "I was deeply shocked when I was told by police that she was probably murdered," Kenichi said in an address during the funeral. "I feel animosity toward the person who committed the crime. I hope the culprit is caught soon."
suspected that the criminal was an otaku
, but this proved to be false.
At first Airi's real name was reported in the Japanese mass media. However when it was revealed that she had been sexually assaulted, the Japanese media stopped using her real name. Despite this, Airi's relatives wanted her real name to be reported. On June 26, 2006, her father Kenichi said: After this speech, Japanese mass media resumed reporting Airi's real name. The speech made the name Airi Kinoshita famous in Japan.
On July 4, 2006, the Hiroshima District Court sentenced Yake to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting and killing the girl, citing his haphazardness. He had dumped the girl's body close to his apartment. Prosecutors appealed against the leniency of the sentence, demanding the death penalty. On December 9, 2008, the Hiroshima High Court reversed and remanded the original verdict. However, the Supreme Court of Japan
demanded them to continue his trial. The Hiroshima High Court upheld the life sentence, resulting in the end of his trial because they had not submitted an additional appeal by August 12, 2010.
Yake faced a child sexual charge in Peru, and so the incident also gave influence on Latin America
. A journalist, Kent Paterson, indicated him into debates of femicide
s in Latin America.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese city of Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
, was sexually assaulted
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed by Jose Manuel Torres Yake (born February 1972). He assumed the false name Juan Carlos Pizarro Yagi. Yake was wanted for a child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
charge at that time in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.
Murder
An autopsy revealed that she had been murdered within 90 minutes of leaving school around lunchtime on Tuesday, November 22, 2005. She died of suffocation caused by pressure to the neck. A local resident spotted the tape-bound cardboard box in which her body was found in a vacant lot in Hiroshima's Aki WardAki-ku, Hiroshima
is one of the eight wards of the city of Hiroshima, Japan.As of November 1, 2005, the ward has an estimated population of 76,858 and a density of 817.55 persons per km². The total area is 94.01 km²....
. The box had been used as packaging for an oven sold in Higashi. Police said they suspected her killer lured Airi away as she was walking home and strangled her soon afterwards. Her schoolbag
Randoseru
A is a firm-sided backpack made of stitched firm leather or leather-like synthetic material, most commonly used in Japan by elementary schoolchildren. It measures roughly 30 cm high by 23 cm wide by 18 cm deep, and features a softer grade of leather or material on those surfaces...
was found alongside a road about 300 meters away. She had been carrying a so-called crime prevention buzzer but it was missing when her body was found.
300 people attended her funeral in Yatsushiro
Yatsushiro, Kumamoto
is a city located in Kumamoto, Japan.On August 1, 2005, the city merged with the municipalities of Izumi, Kagami, Sakamoto, Senchō and Tōyō to form the new expanded city of Yashushiro....
, Kumamoto Prefecture
Kumamoto Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto.- History :Historically the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system...
, her father Kenichi's hometown. The mourners included Ground Self-Defense Force members who served with Kenichi. "I was deeply shocked when I was told by police that she was probably murdered," Kenichi said in an address during the funeral. "I feel animosity toward the person who committed the crime. I hope the culprit is caught soon."
Arrest and trial
Japanese police arrested Yake on November 30, 2005. He insisted that he was a Peruvian of Japanese descent. Before the arrest, the Japanese mass mediaMass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
suspected that the criminal was an otaku
Otaku
is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
, but this proved to be false.
At first Airi's real name was reported in the Japanese mass media. However when it was revealed that she had been sexually assaulted, the Japanese media stopped using her real name. Despite this, Airi's relatives wanted her real name to be reported. On June 26, 2006, her father Kenichi said: After this speech, Japanese mass media resumed reporting Airi's real name. The speech made the name Airi Kinoshita famous in Japan.
On July 4, 2006, the Hiroshima District Court sentenced Yake to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting and killing the girl, citing his haphazardness. He had dumped the girl's body close to his apartment. Prosecutors appealed against the leniency of the sentence, demanding the death penalty. On December 9, 2008, the Hiroshima High Court reversed and remanded the original verdict. However, the Supreme Court of Japan
Supreme Court of Japan
The Supreme Court of Japan , located in Chiyoda, Tokyo is the highest court in Japan. It has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the Japanese constitution and decide questions of national law...
demanded them to continue his trial. The Hiroshima High Court upheld the life sentence, resulting in the end of his trial because they had not submitted an additional appeal by August 12, 2010.
Reaction
Kinoshita's death caused parents to panic in Japan, which had been thought to be a "safe society".Yake faced a child sexual charge in Peru, and so the incident also gave influence on Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. A journalist, Kent Paterson, indicated him into debates of femicide
Femicide
Femicide was first used in England in 1801 to signify "the killing of a woman." In 1848, this term was published in Wharton's Law Lexicon, suggesting that it had become a prosecutable offense. Another term used is feminicide.-First feminist definition:...
s in Latin America.
External links
- Japan to probe foreigners' crimes BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, December 2, 2005 - Peruvian Man Admits Killing Japanese Girl CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, December 1, 2005 - Grief, outrage pour forthat slain schoolgirl's funeral The Japan TimesThe Japan TimesThe Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
, November 26, 2005 - Hiroshima murder suspect had poor life, broken home in Peru The Japan TimesThe Japan TimesThe Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
, December 20, 2005 - Slain girl's dad wants details of crime reported The Japan TimesThe Japan TimesThe Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
, June 27, 2006 - Femicide On the Rise in Latin America Americas Program, March 8, 2006
- Report on the murder
- Taipei Times article on child murder rates.