Victims of 2016 Care Home Attack Remembered

Jiji Press

16:46 JST, July 26, 2023

SAGAMIHARA, Kanagawa (Jiji Press) — A memorial ceremony was held Wednesday for the 19 people killed in a knifing rampage at a care home for people with disabilities in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, seven years ago.

“Please keep watch over us from heaven,” said 54-year-old Yukari Okutsu, who heads a group of residents of the Tsukui Yamayuri-en care home. It was the first memorial speech by a resident of the facility.

“We should never ever let such a sad incident happen again,” Kiyomitsu Nagai, 53, leader of Tsukui Yamayuri-en, said. “We must not forget the 19 people whose lives were lost.”

The ceremony was hosted by the Kanagawa prefectural and Sagamihara city governments and the operator of Tsukui Yamayuri-en. Participants included bereaved family members and users of the care home’s services.

Flowers were laid in front of a monument set up at the facility. The names of 10 of the 19 victims are etched on the monument.

According to the prefectural government, seven names were originally inscribed when the monument was erected in July 2021. The remaining three were added later.