Reading Tomohiro Kato's testimony at his trial for the 2008 attack in Akihabara district of Japan that left seven dead and 10 injured, one might be left with more questions than answers. The defendant in the Akihabara mass murder case told the court (during questioning by his defense attorney) that he committed the crime because he wanted the harassment he suffered on an online message board to stop. And when that harassment continued unabated even after several ominous warnings from the defendant on that message board, he took matters beyond the point of return.
Kato also said that - in addition to being bullied - unnamed individuals posted messages on an online bulletin board using his name, which apparently infuriated him.
"I did it to make those who had harassed me on the Internet message board stop," 27-year-old Tomohiro Kato, said in Tokyo District Court on July 27. "I shouldn't have committed the crime, and I regret what I did."
"I had repeatedly threatened to launch an attack unless they stopped harassing me, but they wouldn't stop," Kato said. "By launching the attack and having it reported by the media, I wanted them to know I really wanted them to stop their harassment."
Kato added some other reasons why he went on the killing spree that saw seven die and left 10 injured including a rough childhood, online harassment and his dependence on the boards. Kato elaborated a bit more on his obsession with online message boards:
"The real world is a society in which people must show their official stances but the Internet is a society where people can freely express their real intentions. The Internet was very important for me because I could frankly say what I really thought about," he said. "I had nothing else that could replace the Internet. It was my relations with others on the Internet that I really valued."
Finally Kato apologized to the families of the victims and the survivors of the attack:
"I'm sorry to the survivors and the bereaved families," Kato told the Mainichi Daily News. "I will talk about anything if it can help prevent a similar incident from happening in the future."
While the media will focus on Kato’s alleged obsession with the Internet, one would hope that some information on his mental state comes to light during the trial; after all, this was the real reason he went on a senseless killing spree that – in the end - did nothing to vindicate his perceived dishonor online – in fact it brought him real dishonor in the rest of the world.
Source: Mainichi Daily News by way of Kotaku - thanks to Rodrigo Ybáñez García for the tip. Image credit - img.timeinc.net.
Comments
Re: Akihabara Killer Blames Rampage on Cyber Bullying
I just don't see how cyber bullying is a problem for anyone. Then again, I don't really do the whole social networking thing and nearly 100% of my actions online are either anonymous or done using a pseudonym. Why don't people just, oh, I don't know, STOP GOING TO SOCIAL SITES/MESSAGE BOARDS TO AVOID THIS KIND OF GARBAGE?!?!
Re: Akihabara Killer Blames Rampage on Cyber Bullying
Problem is, some people will focus on the 'Cyber' rather than the 'Bullying'.
Re: Akihabara Killer Blames Rampage on Cyber Bullying
For someone who claimed to be so into the internet, he seems to fail to understand that making threats to do harm to others to, supposedly, silence the abuse committed by others will NOT stop the abuse. In fact, if anything, those abusers couldn't care less what happens to others. They are the equivilant of those standing on the ground level, looking up to the top of a 10 story building at someone standing on the edge and they, the spectators on the ground, are yelling "Jump! Jump!".
Many victims of abuse do not act rationally, however. Thoughts of escaping abuse through actions such as suicide or, on the other end, becoming abusers themselves, are not unique. Nor is the idea of an abuse victim becoming a life long abuse victim. And many have justifications and reasons that they think make sense.
The same is true of the abusers or those who support the abusers. Idiotic statements such as "be a man and take it!" or "ignore it and they'll stop" are unrealistic.
Depending on the form of the abuse and the individual nature of the abuser and the abused, any result can potentially occur, even if reasonable measures are taken. Unreasonable and irrational measures only make the situation worse.
The interesting thing is that he indicated he felt safer online when it came to discussing various things. But, like sex, the ONLY truly safe thing to do is NOT to do or use it. Doing or using it, even with precautions, is not gauranteed safe. Someone so into it should have know that.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
http://www.facebook.com/nightwing2000
Nightwng2000 is now admin to the group "Parents For Education, Not Legislation" on MySpace as http://groups.myspace.com/pfenl
Re: Akihabara Killer Blames Rampage on Cyber Bullying
Actually, in regards to the internet, i don't think everything you say is entirely accurate... I mean for one thing, 99% of threats made on the internet are fake; it's a common way for people to say "i'm angry" and "i hate you"... hell its often true in real life; seriously this is why certain-game-critics THINK they've been getting death threats when the fact of that matter is, most likely, none of them were real... its not so much people don't care about such threats and the well beings of others, its that they don't believe the threats are real; all they get is that your angry. Though granted, i would say that threatening to hurt OTHER people is not gonna be as effective as threatening your abusers; it is true that some people really don't care.
Futharmore, considering how this is the internet, the ability to walk away is wide open option. There is nothing forcing you to face abusers and they can not force you to face them... just log off, find a new message board, and start over. In real life, bullies can hound you, and avoiding them can be impossible... but not the internet... hell even if you are stupid enough to give them your e-mail you can just get a new e-mail. When it comes down it, aside from getting an admin to ban them, there is NOTHING you can do to stop abusers on the internet. You either face them and deal with the abuse, or you just avoid them all together, which again is very possible.
Re: Akihabara Killer Blames Rampage on Cyber Bullying
Sadly, the japanese media has a history taking the sensationalistic approach in this kind of stuff and always blames games, manga and otaku culture in general when a tragedy like this explodes.
Any claim he have to justify his stupid rage will be taked as serious by the media and politicians eager to use it as an excuse of regulate whatever they don´t like about popular culture.
If this has repercutions on japanese laws, lets hope they doesn´t get so far because this individual.
------------------------------------------------------------ My DeviantArt Page (aka DeviantCensorship): http://www.darkknightstrikes.deviantart.com
Re: Akihabara Killer Blames Rampage on Cyber Bullying
Yeah whatever you said is very much true. I remember Japan blamed Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (I remember seeing a Kotaku article about it, but I'm at work and can't access Kotaku). Also I'm glad you brought up manga, because did you read this article from ANN about a mother trying to ban manga out of the library because she claimed her "son lost his mind when he found this. Now he's in a home for extensive therapy"
. Can you believe this?