Murder of Ryōta Uemura

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Ryōta Uemura
Born2002
Oki Islands, Japan
Died2015 (aged 12–13)
Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Cause of deathSlashing on the neck
Body discovered20 February 2015
Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Known forMurder and torture victim

Ryōta Uemura (上村 遼太, Uemura Ryōta, 2002–2015) was a 13-year-old Japanese boy who was tortured and murdered in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture. His body was discovered in the Tama River on Friday, February 20, 2015.[1][2] On February 25, 2015, the police arrested three boys in relation with Uemura's murder. Two of the suspects told the police that the alleged ringleader was inspired by Jihadi John's killings. It is unclear whether any of the three arrested suspects was the ringleader.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The same two suspects also provided details of the circumstances of Uemura's murder.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

Prior to his death, Uemura had apparently been refusing to commit crimes for a group of older boys with whom he spent time, and wanted to cut ties with them. At the time of his death, his mother was working as a nurse to support her children.[3][19][20]

Victim[edit]

Uemura was well known among his friends as a cheerful boy. When he stopped going to school, his teacher called his parents to see if anything was wrong.[21][22] After his parents divorced, his mother raised him and his four siblings.[23]

Crime[edit]

Ryota Uemura was found dead on the banks of the Tama River on February 20, 2015. His neck had been repeatedly hacked at, apparently using a blood-soaked knife that was discovered nearby, after he was repeatedly forced by a gang of three local teens to swim on the freezing day.[24] The same morning, the partly burned remnants of Uemura’s clothing were found in a nearby park toilet, in what appeared to be an effort to destroy evidence. The boy’s cellphone was missing.[25]

During the police investigation, the boy deemed the ring leader admitted to killing Uemura with a box cutter and another boy said he stabbed him at the leader’s direction, according to the police. A total of 43 knife wounds were inflicted on Uemura’s body, including 31 to the neck during the assault, which lasted more than an hour. Populist weekly Shukan Shincho reported the wounds appeared to indicate that whoever killed Ryota may have been trying to decapitate him. “Some investigators suspect (the criminals) watched Internet videos showing the execution of hostages by Islamic State (IS) fighters and sought to mimic them,” the magazine said, quoting an unnamed source close to police. [26]

Prosecution[edit]

On 27 February 2015, an 18-year-old boy was arrested by Kanagawa Police on suspicion of murder. The teenager's name has not been released because he was legally a minor. Police also obtained arrest warrants for two other teenagers. Local media reports suggest Ryota knew the suspects and had been attacked by them in the past.

On March 19, 2015, the prosecutors sent the three to the Yokohama Family Court. In closed-door juvenile trial sessions at the court, the 18-year-old boy who is considered the ring leader admitted to killing Uemura, while the two others maintained their innocence, according to the sources. On 13 May 2015, the Court decided to send the three teenagers back to the prosecutors, with sources at the Yokohama District Public Prosecutor’s Office stating that the trio may be tried as adults depending on the prosecutors' next move.[27]

On February 10, 2016, the Yokohama District Court handed down a sentence of nine to 13 years in prison to 19-year-old, Funahashi Ryuichi, for playing a key role in the murder of 13 year old, Ryota Uemura, on a riverbank in Kawasaki, southwest of Tokyo. In giving the so-called indeterminate sentence as stipulated under Juvenile Law, Presiding Judge Hiroko Kondo highlighted the cruelty of the way Ryota Uemura was assaulted and killed by Funahashi, who had previously been a part of the same peer group.

“The victim’s neck was slashed more than once and he was forced to swim in the river in the middle of winter. This was just so appalling and the cruelty (of the case) stands out,” the judge said. She also determined that Funahashi “bore the heaviest responsibility” for playing a leading role. Funahashi had pleaded guilty to the charges in his trial, determined by a panel of professional and citizen judges.

Prosecutors had demanded a sentence of 10 to 15 years in prison saying he played the leading role in the murder, while his defense counsel pleaded for five to 10 years, citing the possibility of reformation. The defense counsel also insisted that Funahashi did not have “a strong intention to kill,” but the judge rejected the argument, saying, “he continued to attack the victim with the accomplices until the victim died.” The judge, however, said the defendant’s “immaturity” of allowing violence can largely be attributed to the environment he was brought up in and that warrants lessening his responsibility.

On March 14, 2016, The Yokohama District Court on Monday sentenced the second boy, an 18-year-old at the time, to between four and six and a half years in prison for his part. [28]

Reaction[edit]

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe expressed his condolences to the victim's family and vowed that Japan should not have another similar tragedy. It was the third shocking incident in 2015, after a 19-year-old college student killed 77-year-old Tomoko Mori.[29][30][31][32] On March 5, 2015, after Uemura's mother released statements about her son's death,[33] the three boys previously arrested were charged with murder.[34]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Abe expresses shock at murder of Kawasaki boy ‹ Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion". Japantoday.com. 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  2. ^ "Police arrest 3 youths over murder of Kawasaki boy ‹ Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion". Japantoday.com. 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  3. ^ a b "Several boys to be grilled simultaneously over Kawasaki boy's death". The Japan Times. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  4. ^ "Police arrest 3 teens in slaying of junior high student - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun". Ajw.asahi.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-28. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  5. ^ Ensor, Josie. "Police in Japan arrest teenager for 'Islamic State-inspired' beheading". Telegraph. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  6. ^ "Teenager held for 'IS-inspired' murder in Japan". Smh.com.au. 2013-10-24. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  7. ^ "Friend got Line message from slain Kawasaki boy near time of death". The Japan Times. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  8. ^ "Murdered Kawasaki boy may have been victim of bullying". The Japan Times. 2015-02-24. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  9. ^ "EDITORIAL: How come no one saw the warning signs before boy was slain? - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun". Ajw.asahi.com. Archived from the original on 2015-03-03. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  10. ^ "Teen admits he killed Kawasaki boy, alleges involvement of two others". AJW by The Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Kawasaki suspect says he beat, stabbed 13-year-old victim". The Japan Times. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  12. ^ "Eldest of 3 teen suspects admits to killing Kawasaki boy - 毎日新聞". Archived from the original on 2015-03-09. Retrieved 2015-03-02.
  13. ^ "18-year-old admits to killing young teenager - News - NHK WORLD - English". Archived from the original on 2015-03-04. Retrieved 2015-03-02.
  14. ^ "Japan teen admits killing boy, 13: report". NewsComAu. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  15. ^ "Eldest suspect in Kawasaki boy's slaying says harassment escalated into murder - 毎日新聞". Archived from the original on 2015-03-09. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  16. ^ "Cop failed to ask slain teen's name when calling him about assault week before murder - 毎日新聞". Archived from the original on 2015-03-06. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  17. ^ "Society failed to save Uemura". The Japan Times. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  18. ^ "Two 17-year-old suspects admit to involvement in Kawasaki murder - 毎日新聞". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  19. ^ "Three teen suspects held in Kawasaki boy's slaying". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  20. ^ "Naked body of 13-year-old stabbing victim found near Kawasaki river". The Japan Times. 2015-02-21. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  21. ^ "Editorial: Murder of Kawasaki boy a wake-up call for adults". mainichi.jp. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  22. ^ "VOX POPULI: Boy's life lost after society failed to understand his world". AJW by The Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  23. ^ "Kawasaki teen murder highlights hardships faced by single parents in Japan - 毎日新聞". Archived from the original on 2015-03-08. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  24. ^ Osaki, Tomohiro (2020-02-19). "Growing up in poverty and broken homes, Kawasaki youths find savior in rap". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  25. ^ Schreiber, Mark (2015-03-14). "Seeking blame in a Kawasaki teen's death". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  26. ^ Webb, Sam (2015-02-27). "Attempted decapitation of teenager may have been inspired by Jihadi John". mirror. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  27. ^ "Teens suspected of killing Kawasaki boy may be tried as adults". The Japan Times Online. 2015-05-13. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  28. ^ "Second killer of Kawasaki boy gets prison term". The Japan Times Online. 2016-03-14. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  29. ^ NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). "Juvenile crime down, recidivism up - News - NHK WORLD - English". .nhk.or.jp. Archived from the original on 2015-02-28. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  30. ^ "1 of 3 teen suspects allegedly attacked Kawasaki boy prior to murder - 毎日新聞" (in Japanese). Mainichi.jp. Archived from the original on 2015-02-28. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  31. ^ NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). "Abe in shock over teen murder - News - NHK WORLD - English". .nhk.or.jp. Archived from the original on 2015-02-28. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  32. ^ "18歳少年「上村遼太さん殺害」自供！「チクられて頭にきた」". J-CASTテレビウォッチ. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  33. ^ "Kawasaki murder victim's mother releases statement to media ‹ Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion". japantoday.com. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  34. ^ "All 3 suspects admit involvement in assault on murdered Kawasaki boy - 毎日新聞". Archived from the original on 2015-03-08. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
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