Just a little tidbit of info that I found interesting and others might too.
A Japanese YouTuber got his hands on old maps of Setagaya and the Kamisoshigaya neighbourhood that ranged back from 1980 up until 2000 and discovered that the building directly next to the Miyazawa house on the right was actually student housing during the 80’s and part of the 90’s, and not a house. After the Miyazawa’s and Irie’s moved in during 1990 it then changed into an apartment building that housed several tenants.
Interestingly the house directly to the left of the Miyazawa house had the owner listed with the same surname as the owner listed on the apartment building to the right. It wasn’t confirmed but it’s possible the same person owned both buildings that sandwiched the family house.
Furthermore, due to the walking distance from surrounding train stations and the apartment building likely only having had one-room type apartments for its original purpose of housing students, the YouTuber speculates the rent would have been cheap and likely continued to house either students or mainly young people.
The apartment building was still on the neighbourhood map at the end of 1999 but then was gone by the end of 2000, meaning it was there until perhaps only a half year before the murders.
Just as a side note and not to speak for him, but we should not expect any further information to be given from Nic at all while the podcast is being made to prevent the investigation from being tampered or interfered with. There are unfortunately people out there and on these threads with bad intentions that have already caused problems and had to be dealt with swiftly. By the time the podcast is finished we will have an answer.
Thank you so much for sharing this
@Incoherent! It this information was very insightful and for me, it helped me deepen my understanding of the surrounding environment or area in which Miyazawas as I try to picture it.
Also, it made think more Japan in the early 2000s and late 90s when there was growing concern on the uptick of violent juvenile crime. Though I am admittedly learning more about this topic and time period, one theory proposed by WSWJ is that immense pressure from the education system, feelings of isolation from one’s own family and the country’s political system and 1998 having the lowest employment rate for college graduates post-WWII may have contributed to feelings of frustration, rage and distress among the country’s youth that sometimes expressed themselves in acts of uncontrollable rage and violence. Of course, not all the youth in Japan experienced the same responses or expressed themselves as such but it did make think more about the students who potentially lost cheap or affordable housing after their building was torn down in Setagaya Park and perhaps some, or at least one of them, struggling with the same emotions of anger, frustration, disappointment and loss of control or say in their own future or where they can call home. Considering the distress already caused by a lack of job security, possible costly living expenses and their demanding academic responsibilities, perhaps the loss of housing was just too much or could have a played a role in the horrific murders. Perhaps the killer fixated on the Miyazawas because they seemed to be living the dream with a successful couple thriving in their careers, bright and happy kids, a home to still call their own, time to bond and travel around the city and the world and the ability to move to a new home when the time comes. They, IMO, reached a point in their lives that many of us would also like to reach when we are the same age as them and yet perhaps because of the social and economic circumstances at the time it no longer seemed possible. Youth in the US have also experienced similar fears and responses and perhaps, as we have seen sadly also in America, the killer unjustly and brutally displaced or projected all of their resentment, envy, anger and disappointment towards Japan and a system that failed them towards the Miyazawas?
This is just one theory I have had from my reading so far but of course I could be off the mark and nevertheless, even if the killer did feel society or life failed them doesn’t mean justice needs to fail the Miyazawas and their family members. They deserve answers and the killer deserves to be held accountable in the court of law.
JMO/speculation from the helpful info you shared with us. I still have faith that their killer will be caught, especially with all the updates we have received over the past several months
A series of violent crimes perpetrated by young people in Japan over the last year has generated considerable public discussion and concern. As in other countries, the response in the media and official circles has been to demand harsher penalties and to prosecute young offenders as adults. But...
www.wsws.org
Gangland shootouts, rising juvenile violence and a big increase in serious offences have raised fears that Japan - one of the safest countries in the world - is losing the battle against crime.
www.theguardian.com
