Indiscriminate Stabbing Incidents: Perpetrators Unreasonably Taking out Their Frustration on Society

Editorial

15:04 JST, May 17, 2025

A spate of indiscriminate stabbing incidents has occurred in which it seems as though the perpetrators are taking out their dissatisfaction with their circumstances on society. It is necessary to analyze the perpetrators’ motives and backgrounds of each of these incidents and consider how to prevent such uncontrolled acts.

On the night of April 14, a high school girl was stabbed to death at the entrance to a condominium building in Saitama City. The 25-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder had never met the high school girl in person before. He said his personality had become twisted as the result of abuse, and he was at the bottom of society, according to investigative sources.

On May 7, a 43-year-old man was arrested for allegedly slashing a passenger in a knife attack at the Tokyo Metro’s Todaimae Station. The man claimed that he had been a regular truant from school due to his parents’ education-related abuse, thereby he had experienced much hardship, according to sources. He told the police words to the effect that he had carried out the incident as a warning to education-obsessed parents.

In these cases, it appears that the perpetrators were trying to vent their frustration at their life not going well by attacking unrelated people. This is an extremely unreasonable and absolutely unforgivable act, no matter the reason.

Furthermore, on May 11, a third-year junior high school boy was arrested on suspicion of fatally stabbing an elderly woman on a street in Chiba City. He was quoted as telling police: “I wanted to escape from my complicated family environment. I thought I would kill someone, regardless of who they may be.”

It is believed that familial problems lie behind the three incidents. The police should clarify the circumstances leading up to the atrocious acts in each case by investigating further the relationship between the perpetrators and their parents as well as the families’ financial situations, among other things.

Conventionally, the education of children has been considered to be the joint responsibility of three parties — the school, the family and the community. In recent years, however, personal connections within the community have been fading. Families, too, are having fewer children, and a lifestyle in which each child is immersed in their own world in a private room has taken root.

People who have grown up with little contact with others may have a narrower perspective and are more likely to be trapped in the belief that they are the only ones who are unhappy.

With the advancement of the nuclear family, parents are becoming more isolated as, for example, they have no one to consult with nearby. There must be many cases in which parents are left alone with problems such as not being able to communicate well with their children.

In the current situation, in which it is difficult to expect local communities to perform their function of watching over people, it may be necessary to have public organizations supplement that function. First, it is important to share information on households that seem to be experiencing difficulties with the police and schools, as well as medical institutions, which can easily detect abuse.

Then, “push-type” support, such as dispatching counselors, should be promoted. It will also be vital to work to support education to foster compassion and humanity in childhood through such means as holding picture book reading sessions.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 17, 2025)