Japan - Miyazawa family of 4 murdered, Setagaya, Tokyo, 30 Dec 2000 #3

[Sor Juana]

Cleveland Elementary School shooting (San Diego) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

(She had seizures and was off her meds during the shooting)
Or a Texas shooter

RSBM. OMG. She has quite a few conditions. What I noticed in the article: "At her first hearing, in 1993, Spencer said she had hoped police would shoot her, and that she had been a user of alcohol and drugs at the time of the crime, although the results of drug tests done when she was taken into custody were negative." This suggests that the Setagaya killer might have been on drugs in general but had been off them for some time due to financial strain. This could potentially explain his brutality and the negative blood tests.

Re: Texas shooter, "he did not have a criminal record or any documented mental health issues. However, he had searched the term "sociopath" and received an email about possible treatment. He had also previously posted violent threats online. School officials at Uvalde High School withdrew him from the school on October 28, 2021, due to his frequent absences. Ramos' social media acquaintances said he openly abused and killed animals such as cats and would livestream the abuse on Yubo." ( Uvalde school shooting ) How could this slip through the police? He could have a record for animal abuse, so why wasn't it documented as a mental health issue? This was in 2022, just recently.

In the DSM-4, the American Psychiatric Association lists animal cruelty as one of the behaviours signalling conduct disorder.

 

[Sor Juana]

Today, a person like Miyazawa would keep his money, probably, in cryptocurrency.
But in 2000, what would he invest into? How do they keep money in Japan?

RSBM. Japanese government bonds: these can be held electronically or in paper form, taking up minimal physical space. Another way to keep the money would be Savings accounts and time deposits. If the killer thought Mikio had JGBs, this could explain why he turned everything upside down. Although, JGBs typically require personal identification to redeem. So he would need to get Mikio's passport or resident card as well.

 

[MiniMoo]

RSBM. Japanese government bonds: these can be held electronically or in paper form, taking up minimal physical space. Another way to keep the money would be Savings accounts and time deposits. If the killer thought Mikio had JGBs, this could explain why he turned everything upside down. Although, JGBs typically require personal identification to redeem. So he would need to get Mikio's passport or resident card as well.

Maybe even just a Hanko - those hold a lot of weight. I had a few made and still have them.

When it came to business or financial transactions I found the Hanko was more than enough without others forms of ID - when I did use it. Not that I was applying for massive loans or sealing major business deals - nothing of the kind.

 

[Sor Juana]

Long story short. I believe antiseizure drugs could offer some prevention

There is a growing trend to treat epilepsy in dogs with CBD oil diluted in hemp oil and/or herbal tinctures. This treatment relaxes dogs and has some positive behavioural impacts as well. While it is not a complete cure, the seizures become less severe and less frequent. For cases of mild to moderate epilepsy, it looks like a good alternative to traditional drugs.

 

[BatataPoha]

I think that is plausible. IIRC none of the skaters by the house could help LE identify the suspect but maybe the perp uses the skate park during off hours. For example, if he was a Night Owl, insomniac or just really not getting along with someone at home he goes to the park long after dark when he could be alone. Under the cover of darkness and skateboarding alone chances are he wouldn’t cause a noise disturbance, let alone be a bother to anyone in anyone in the homes. Perhaps he did it for weeks or months, during late nights to early morning, without anyone knowing. The habit could have also led to him first targeting the Miyazawa home as he observed their late night habits, recognized them one by one and either started to stalk or follow them before committing their murders.

I had similar thoughts with a slight twist.

We know Mikio complained to a bunch of skaters. We know Yasuko had noticed a car parked very close to the house.

Lets assume the killer is a young student attending some vocational course in one of the nearby universities. But maybe he is bunking classes or has free tine during general office/school hours He is athletic, so maybe he is into some kinda sports, it could be skating or something else. He uses the park, maybe at times he parks his car too close to the house. Yasuko is irritated by this, recounts this to Mikio in the evenings, and maybe after a point he decides to confront the skater group believing that one of them is probably the guy thats using the parks in the morning.

 

[Sor Juana]

Maybe even just a Hanko - those hold a lot of weight. I had a few made and still have them.

When it came to business or financial transactions I found the Hanko was more than enough without others forms of ID - when I did use it. Not that I was applying for massive loans or sealing major business deals - nothing of the kind.

True. If Mikio had JGBs, it would have been much easier for the killer to grab those instead of guessing PINs. For that, the killer would need to know about hankos, which are easy to spot while in a bank. It would have made things a lot simpler. While I haven't seen any confirmed info about the Miyazawas' bank accounts or bonds, I have the impression that nothing was taken from them. Perhaps Mikio kept his hanko in the office safe not out of fear of burglars, but simply because small children might find it and use it as a toy. There's no information about the hanko, but I appreciate the idea.

 

[Sor Juana]

He is athletic, so maybe he is into some kinda sports, it could be skating or something else.

He could have been athletic, or at least generally fit, but I have trouble picturing him doing sports in Slazenger shoes. Those were more for general activities, an imitation of true sporting shoes. Athletes would have preferred more advanced sneakers. JMO.

 

[Sor Juana]

I would be highly sceptical about this train of thought about this being an attack of passion.

1) The knife has been bought earlier and was on the killer. Now unless we think the killer went back to his place and came back with a knife, in which case he lived nearby, then he came to the place with the intention to kill.

The fact that the knife was bought earlier does not imply that the killer intended to use it for killing. Nobody in their right mind would use a sashimi knife for combat purposes. This leaves open the possibility that the knife was purchased for cutting tuna and happened to be used as a murder weapon, rather than being specifically planned for that use.

If he did indeed live nearby, then why spend atleast 2 hrs in the house where you just murdered everyone. Why not get what you want and run away to your own place? Again it doesn’t track with what we know the killer did later.

One reason could be that what the killer needed wasn't simply waiting for him, sitting on a kitchen bench in a little china bowl. He had to make an effort and search for it, which took time and likely led to frustration over not finding it (my guess). Perhaps it was because he wasn't living nearby after all, and he needed time to recover and make decisions about what to do next. He may have waited for further instructions, or perhaps he was waiting for a train.

The reason the killer might have targeted something personal rather than JGBs is because mass murders often occur due to acute stressors, rather than simply for the thrill of it. It's one possibility to consider that strong emotions were involved, perhaps stemming from rejection or a perceived sense of betrayal. Such situations are not uncommon among teachers, where acts of kindness and attention may be misinterpreted, leading to limerence that can result in outbursts. We cannot dismiss this possibility. JMO.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

I actually struggle to understand how the TMPD could be sure nothing apart from a small amount of money was taken, which is something they've always said they believe. LE spoke to the Irie family, but how could they be sure exactly what was in the Miyazawa home?

I'm not always sure what's in MY house, much less the home of family members.

 

[Sor Juana]

I actually struggle to understand how the TMPD could be sure nothing apart from a small amount of money was taken, which is something they've always said they believe. LE spoke to the Irie family, but how could they be sure exactly what was in the Miyazawa home?

I'm not always sure what's in MY house, much less the home of family members.

I believe they used Mikio's expense log records and matched them with the bank account balance. This, however, only provides an estimate, as one can never be certain when cash is involved. Mikio could have saved some cash. Another point is that the Japanese wiki page mentions the killer took a larger sum of money, around $2000, and left ~$600 behind. This smaller portion was in an envelope on the shelves. If this is true, the killer may have overlooked the envelope. We can speculate about it, but the fact remains that he did take some money, indicating he was interested in it one way or another. JMO.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

I'm not just talking about money. TMPD have always said they don't think *anything* besides some money was taken, be it documents, trinkets or anything else.

I just don't know how they (or the Iries) could be sure of that.

 

[Sor Juana]

I'm not just talking about money. TMPD have always said they don't think *anything* besides some money was taken, be it documents, trinkets or anything else.

I just don't know how they (or the Iries) could be sure of that.

I guess one cannot be 100% sure, especially when it comes to old clothes. The Iries had just returned from the UK after over 8 years of absence, so they wouldn't know much about Mikio's wardrobe, documents, or personal items, particularly photos.

 

[Charlot123]

RSBM. OMG. She has quite a few conditions. What I noticed in the article: "At her first hearing, in 1993, Spencer said she had hoped police would shoot her, and that she had been a user of alcohol and drugs at the time of the crime, although the results of drug tests done when she was taken into custody were negative." This suggests that the Setagaya killer might have been on drugs in general but had been off them for some time due to financial strain. This could potentially explain his brutality and the negative blood tests.

Re: Texas shooter, "he did not have a criminal record or any documented mental health issues. However, he had searched the term "sociopath" and received an email about possible treatment. He had also previously posted violent threats online. School officials at Uvalde High School withdrew him from the school on October 28, 2021, due to his frequent absences. Ramos' social media acquaintances said he openly abused and killed animals such as cats and would livestream the abuse on Yubo." ( Uvalde school shooting ) How could this slip through the police? He could have a record for animal abuse, so why wasn't it documented as a mental health issue? This was in 2022, just recently.

In the DSM-4, the American Psychiatric Association lists animal cruelty as one of the behaviours signalling conduct disorder.

I meant the shooter in TX who had a brain tumor. Years ago.
This is what I am trying to connect: dissociative conditions. Sleepwalking, nighttime bedwetting, sleep terrors, daytime dissociations, seizure-like states. Cruelty to animals might be a separate group, related to alexithymia. One wonders if antiseizure drugs and oxytocin could work, but it is just an idea. (Maybe vasopressin, too, as it helps kids who bedwet.)

 

[FlowersInBloom]

Hi everyone sorry to just butt in here…
I’ve just registered after reading all of the three threads about this case. There are so many interesting points being made and I hope someday this poor family will get justice.

May I ask a question to @Incoherent? Your post about the Yokota school yearbooks after reading about FaclessPodcast’s theories really fascinated me, but you didn’t follow up about that... Did you find anything in those or anything else? I hope that is OK to ask and thank you!

 

[Sor Juana]

I meant the shooter in TX who had a brain tumor. Years ago.
This is what I am trying to connect: dissociative conditions. Sleepwalking, nighttime bedwetting, sleep terrors, daytime dissociations, seizure-like states. Cruelty to animals might be a separate group, related to alexithymia. One wonders if antiseizure drugs and oxytocin could work, but it is just an idea. (Maybe vasopressin, too, as it helps kids who bedwet.)

Gotcha. Clinical studies have suggested that oxytocin can modulate brain activity and has anticonvulsant properties, but these findings are preliminary. Sources such as IntechOpen and MDPI's International Journal of Molecular Sciences can provide more info.

 

[cenazoic]

Can someone shine light on the fact that whether the cultural training on the AFB included some references to teachings of Buddhism, death or the Jizo statue?

Sorry, missed this earlier. My ‘cultural training’ at Kadena in the 90s was a very generic “the Japanese are generally Buddhist/Daoist” sort of thing. I don’t recall hearing about Jizo before this thread.

That said, as an early twenty-something I was more concerned about having a good time, Japanese electronics, video games and the like vs the nuances of Buddhism. Someone differently-inclined may have done their own study, and I knew people who did attempt to deeply immerse themselves in the culture. In that regard young service members aren’t very different from the average college student - often first time away from home, trying all the new experiences, searching for meaning and identity, etc.

If Mikio had JGBs, it would have been much easier for the killer to grab those instead of guessing PINs.

I have a hard time imagining a teenager /young adult (or anyone whose primary motive is theft) caring (or knowing) about JGBs , especially vs cash in front of them.

At ant rate, its hard for me to imagine a young-ish person committing this particular crime, especially as a first/only crime (as Nic’s suspect would seem to imply.). As y’all have noted, it ‘feels’ personal; the brutality of the kills, the overall -“eff-you” feeling of the various desecrations - personal.

On a random note:

I have trouble picturing him doing sports in Slazenger shoes. Those were more for general activities, an imitation of true sporting shoes

Slazengers were ‘real’ sporting shoes in the 80s-90s. I played golf, and they had well known golf balls and clubs. However, I remember them being best known at the time as tennis shoes for pros. I don’t remember anyone of my age, in the US or abroad (among military members), wearing them, although the brand wasn’t unknown. Nike, Adidas, and K-Swiss were the thing in shoes back then (I graduated HS in 1988). In the early 90s, Puma also became a thing; Slazenger, never. It’d be interesting to know who the primary demographic for Slazenger shoe sales was back then.

 

[Cryptic]

Can someone shine light on the fact that whether the cultural training on the AFB included some references to teachings of Buddhism, death or the Jizo statue?

I am a former military brat, but non service member.

Despite no military experience, I"ll second @cenazoic in regards to the shallow depths of any cultural training. Older dependents also received the same generic cultural education in school as well.

All very basic: We are guests in Germany and need to behave as such. Orderliness and punctuality are important in Germany. The polite forms of address are.... , major German holidays are.... Germans tend to frown on.... And, oh yeah, Octoberfest and Christmas market are fun. But remember that you represent the United States at all times.

The only exception to the shallow dive into host nation culture would be senior U.S. officers who were detailed to work directly with Germans, Japanese etc.

Together with their wives, these officers could also represent the US military at Japanese or German social functions. As a result, they would receive immersion language education and deeper cultural training prior to being assigned.

 

[Charlot123]

There is a growing trend to treat epilepsy in dogs with CBD oil diluted in hemp oil and/or herbal tinctures. This treatment relaxes dogs and has some positive behavioural impacts as well. While it is not a complete cure, the seizures become less severe and less frequent. For cases of mild to moderate epilepsy, it looks like a good alternative to traditional drugs.

CBD, in the form of Epidiolex, is available in the US as a prescribed antiseizure drug. It is being tested as potential treatment for bipolar disorder as well.

 

[Charlot123]

Sorry, missed this earlier. My ‘cultural training’ at Kadena in the 90s was a very generic “the Japanese are generally Buddhist/Daoist” sort of thing. I don’t recall hearing about Jizo before this thread.

RSBM

(It triggered thinking: from Buddhism to Shinto back to Buddha Amida to "Amida Assassins" Fandom. Then proceesing with Assassin societies and then, googling League of Assassins in US comic books of the 70es.)

Remembering that anime were around in the 90es and 2000es, were there any assassin societies or heroes in them around that time? Maybe the idea came from one of these comics/games?