The Kobe child murders (Japanese: 神戸連続児童殺傷事件, Hepburn: Kōbe renzoku jidō sasshō jiken) occurred in Suma, Kobe, Japan, on March 16 and May 27, 1997. Two victims, Ayaka Yamashita (山下 彩花, Yamashita Ayaka), aged 10, and Jun Hase (土師 淳, Hase Jun), aged 11, were murdered by a 14-year-old boy reportedly named Shinichiro Azuma (東 慎一郎, Azuma Shin'ichirō), under the alias Seito Sakakibara (酒鬼薔薇 聖斗, Sakakibara Seito).
The perpetrator was arrested on June 28, 1997, in connection with the Hase murder, and later confessed to both murders. As a juvenile offender, he was prosecuted and convicted as "Boy A". His real name has not been officially released to the press because Japanese law prohibits publishing the identification, but in some weekly magazines his real name has been reported as Shinichiro Azuma. Beginning in 2004, Azuma was released on provisional basis, with full release announced to follow on January 1, 2005. The murders and subsequent release of the perpetrator gained widespread attention from Japanese media and politicians.
In June 2015, Sakakibara, then aged 32, released an autobiography through Ohta Publishing titled Zekka (絶歌), in which he claimed to express regret for his crimes and recounted the murders in graphic detail. Despite attempts by Jun Hase's family to block the release of Zekka, and despite one bookstore chain refusing to stock the book, it quickly reached the top of Japanese bestseller lists.[11] A few months later, Sakakibara set up a vanity website in which he posted bizarre photoshopped images of a nude male, suggested to be himself. In response to these controversies, the tabloid Shūkan Post publicized Sakakibara's real name of Shinichiro Azuma, as well as his location and occupation at the time.
The Kobe child murders (Japanese: 神戸連続児童殺傷事件, Hepburn: Kōbe renzoku jidō sasshō jiken) occurred in Suma, Kobe, Japan, on March 16 and May 27, 1997. Two victims, Ayaka Yamashita (山下 彩花, Yamashita Ayaka), aged 10, and Jun Hase (土師 淳, Hase Jun), aged 11, were murdered by a 14-year-old boy reportedly named Shinichiro Azuma (東 慎一郎, Azuma Shin'ichirō), under the alias Seito Sakakibara (酒鬼薔薇 聖斗, Sakakibara Seito).
The perpetrator was arrested on June 28, 1997, in connection with the Hase murder, and later confessed to both murders. As a juvenile offender, he was prosecuted and convicted as "Boy A". His real name has not been officially released to the press because Japanese law prohibits publishing the identification, but in some weekly magazines his real name has been reported as Shinichiro Azuma. Beginning in 2004, Azuma was released on provisional basis, with full release announced to follow on January 1, 2005. The murders and subsequent release of the perpetrator gained widespread attention from Japanese media and politicians.
In June 2015, Sakakibara, then aged 32, released an autobiography through Ohta Publishing titled Zekka (絶歌), in which he claimed to express regret for his crimes and recounted the murders in graphic detail. Despite attempts by Jun Hase's family to block the release of Zekka, and despite one bookstore chain refusing to stock the book, it quickly reached the top of Japanese bestseller lists.[11] A few months later, Sakakibara set up a vanity website in which he posted bizarre photoshopped images of a nude male, suggested to be himself. In response to these controversies, the tabloid Shūkan Post publicized Sakakibara's real name of Shinichiro Azuma, as well as his location and occupation at the time.
