Sayama Incident
Encyclopedia
The is a murder case named after Sayama City, Saitama
Prefecture, Japan
, where it took place. The incident, in which a man was imprisoned for 31 years, highlighted official discrimination against Japan's burakumin
.
200,000 (approximately US$556 at the time) to a place close to her house at 12:00 am on May 2. Her sister, who later committed suicide, brought the money to the designated place, with many policemen surrounding the site. Although a man came to her and exchanged words, he became suspicious and escaped into the night before the police could catch him.
In the morning on May 4, the dead body of the victim was found underground on an alley in a farm. Police determined that she was rape
d, then murdered. The media criticized the police for failing to catch the possible suspect, the same mistake made during the kidnapping case of Yoshinobu Murakoshi, which had occurred only one month earlier. On May 6, the day before his wedding, a man from the same neighborhood committed suicide. He had the same blood type
as the suspect.
He and his supporters insist that the police forced him to make a false confession by isolating and threatening him for almost a month. As is often the case with the people from Burakumin villages, he could not read or write. He also did not have the slightest knowledge of what a lawyer was. The police exploited that and made him suspicious by giving him false information about his lawyer. Finally, the police succeeded in forcing him to confess by a false promise that he would be freed within ten years if he confessed to the murder. The police wrote up a "confession" for him that he signed, but if one simply follows the supposed route and looks at the various activities he supposedly did, there are numerous inconsistencies.
Ishikawa was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, later changed to life imprisonment. He was paroled
and released from prison in 1994. Along with his supporters, he is still seeking a fair retrial and the chance to clear his name. "I want the label of murderer, which is bearing so heavily on me, removed", Mr Ishikawa said in 2002.
He remains guilty now. However, since he was a resident of a discriminated burakumin
social minority
, human rights groups and lawyers claimed that the courts made the assumption that he was the criminal.
Saitama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...
Prefecture, Japan
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...
, where it took place. The incident, in which a man was imprisoned for 31 years, highlighted official discrimination against Japan's burakumin
Burakumin
are a Japanese social minority group. The burakumin are one of the main minority groups in Japan, along with the Ainu of Hokkaidō, the Ryukyuans of Okinawa and Japanese residents of Korean and Chinese descent....
.
The murder
On May 1, 1963, 16-year-old went missing on her way home from school. Later that night, a ransom note was delivered to her house. The note asked to bring ¥¥
¥ is a currency sign used by the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan currencies. The symbol resembles a Latin letter Y with a double stroke. The base unit of both currencies shared the same Chinese character pronounced yuán in Mandarin Chinese and en in Standard Japanese...
200,000 (approximately US$556 at the time) to a place close to her house at 12:00 am on May 2. Her sister, who later committed suicide, brought the money to the designated place, with many policemen surrounding the site. Although a man came to her and exchanged words, he became suspicious and escaped into the night before the police could catch him.
In the morning on May 4, the dead body of the victim was found underground on an alley in a farm. Police determined that she was rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d, then murdered. The media criticized the police for failing to catch the possible suspect, the same mistake made during the kidnapping case of Yoshinobu Murakoshi, which had occurred only one month earlier. On May 6, the day before his wedding, a man from the same neighborhood committed suicide. He had the same blood type
Blood type
A blood type is a classification of blood based on the presence or absence of inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells . These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrates, glycoproteins, or glycolipids, depending on the blood group system...
as the suspect.
Arrest and trial
In order to cover up their mistake, the police went into a Buraku community on May 23 and arrested 24-year-old on an unrelated charge. Although at first he denied the charge, from June 20 he capitulated to the pressure and began confessing that he had kidnapped and killed her. While in custody for over a month, the police forced Ishikawa to confess to the kidnapping in exchange for a number of unfulfilled promises.He and his supporters insist that the police forced him to make a false confession by isolating and threatening him for almost a month. As is often the case with the people from Burakumin villages, he could not read or write. He also did not have the slightest knowledge of what a lawyer was. The police exploited that and made him suspicious by giving him false information about his lawyer. Finally, the police succeeded in forcing him to confess by a false promise that he would be freed within ten years if he confessed to the murder. The police wrote up a "confession" for him that he signed, but if one simply follows the supposed route and looks at the various activities he supposedly did, there are numerous inconsistencies.
Ishikawa was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, later changed to life imprisonment. He was paroled
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
and released from prison in 1994. Along with his supporters, he is still seeking a fair retrial and the chance to clear his name. "I want the label of murderer, which is bearing so heavily on me, removed", Mr Ishikawa said in 2002.
He remains guilty now. However, since he was a resident of a discriminated burakumin
Burakumin
are a Japanese social minority group. The burakumin are one of the main minority groups in Japan, along with the Ainu of Hokkaidō, the Ryukyuans of Okinawa and Japanese residents of Korean and Chinese descent....
social minority
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
, human rights groups and lawyers claimed that the courts made the assumption that he was the criminal.
External links
- Sayama Incident - Supporter's site
- Sayama Case - Detailed description of the case