TOKYO —AP- A teenage boy carrying a severed head walked into a Japanese police station Tuesday saying he killed his mother, the latest in a series of grisly dismemberments that have horrified a nation renowned for its low crime rates.
The 17-year-old suspect led officers to his house in northern Fukushima prefecture (state) and pointed out his headless mother on her futon mattress, with a frank, “It’s in here,” Kyodo News reported.
He told police he beheaded his mother on the eve of her 47th birthday while she slept, and added, “It didn’t matter who I killed,” Kyodo reported. Police confirmed the arrest.
Japan has long prided itself on safe streets and low incidents of violent crime. But the latest killing triggered soul searching about what some worry is a disturbing new trend — particularly with its mix of youthful aggression and icy remorselessness.
“If true, it’s horrifying,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said.
It’s true, of course; the incidence of this type of crime has been on the rise for some time. It’s not causal, perhaps, but I note with a certain amount of alarm. a parallel, wherein a lot of our social interations…our morality, even what used to be called common courtesy, have gone by the way. And I wonder a bit, about the nature of that connection.
Tags: BitsBlog, Social Issues
