Yu Hagino

Parties and roles

• Yu Hagino (萩野 裕, Hagino Yū, born 1982) was a teacher at a cram school in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, and later a defendant in the case.
• Sayano Horimoto (堀本 紗也乃, Horimoto Sayano, 1993 - December 10, 2005) was a 12-year-old sixth grader at Shinmei Primary School who was murdered at a cram school.

Background

• Yu Hagino became a teacher at a cram school in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, and he was also a student at Doshisha University.
• Sayano Horimoto was a sixth grader at Shinmei Primary School.
• Sayano became uncomfortable around Hagino.
• Sayano complained to her parents about Hagino when he became suggestive around her.
• Hagino went to a mental hospital in the autumn of 2003, but his condition became worse afterward.
• Hagino took Fluvoxamine.
• Hagino was convicted of injuring a man before the murder.
• Because the murder occurred when the murder of Airi Kinoshita made a panic in Japan, Hagino was noted as a child killer by Japanese people.

The offence

• On December 10, 2005, Hagino sent the other students outside.
• Hagino disconnected a security camera.
• Hagino stabbed Sayano Horimoto to death at her juku (cram school).
• The court said the stabbing occurred in a classroom on the morning of Dec. 10, 2005.
• Hagino stabbed Sayano Horimoto in the neck and other parts of her body.
• Hagino stabbed Sayano more than 10 times in the neck, head and face after initially approaching her from behind and trying to hit her with a hammer, according to prosecutors.
• After stabbing her, Hagino pushed her to the floor.
• Prosecutors said Hagino then stabbed her at least three more times in the neck.
• The indictment said Hagino killed Sayano Horimoto, a sixth-grader at Shinmei Primary School in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, by stabbing her in the neck and other parts of the body at about 9 a.m. on Dec. 10 in a classroom at Kyoshin Co.’s Uji Shinmei cram school in the city.
• Prosecutors said Hagino premeditated the crime by wrapping his knives and a hammer in a towel so they would not make noise when he put them in a bag.
• Prosecutors said Hagino allegedly planned to commit the crime on Dec. 3, an examination day for sixth-graders, because there would be fewer teachers than usual at the school.
• Hagino purchased two knives the day before, but did not commit the crime that day because Horimoto had already taken the test.
• Hagino’s lawyer argued that Hagino had received psychiatric treatment and was taking an antidepressant before he committed the crime.
• Hagino’s lawyer also said that Hagino had hallucinations that the girl had attacked him with a sword and had taken over his body.
• The lawyer said that although Hagino drew up a detailed plan for the murder, he never thought how he could escape from the scene and destroy evidence.
• Police said Hagino stabbed the student after getting into a verbal dispute.
• Local media said the suspect had told police the girl had mocked him.

Investigation and arrest

• Yu Hagino was arrested on suspicion of killing the schoolgirl.
• Police said the classroom’s surveillance camera system had been disabled before the attack.
• Police said the attack was carried out with a kitchen knife.
• The justice minister warned of a chain reaction of killings.
• Japan's Justice Minister, Seiken Sugiura, told Kyodo news agency: "We need to prevent a chain reaction. I would like to carefully study the incident and think of steps that can be taken"
• The minister also told Kyodo news agency: "This is truly sad"
• A police spokesman said: "The suspect has said that he stabbed the student after getting into a verbal dispute"

Trial

• The trial took place at the Kyoto District Court.
• Hagino pleaded guilty.
• During the proceedings, Hagino’s mental competency became a major issue during the trial.
• A psychiatric test cleared Hagino.
• The defence argued that Hagino was mentally incompetent at the time of the crime.
• The defence lawyer argued that Hagino had suffered from mental disorders, including hallucinations and delusions, and could not tell right from wrong at the time of the incident.
• Hagino admitted during the first hearing of his trial that he stabbed a 12-year-old primary school girl to death at the cram school in December.
• Hagino regretted the crime.
• Hagino said: "I want to apologize to the girl and her parents from whom I took away the precious life of their child,"
• Hagino said: "I'll atone [for the crime] for the rest of my life."
• Hagino told the court that he was upset by a complaint about his teaching, filed against him by the victim's parents in May 2005.
• Hagino claimed the episode led him to hallucinate that the girl had attacked him with a dagger.
• The court ruled that Himuro, who was fired after the slaying, was capable of separating illusion from reality.
• Hagino told the court that he was capable of separating illusion from reality, as ruled by the court.
• A press conference quote from Hagino’s lawyer was included: Hagino’s lawyer said that Hagino has stopped having hallucinations, but was suffering from an altered mental state at the time of the incident and needs psychiatric tests.
• Hagino was charged with murder and violation of the Firearms and Swords Control Law.
• Prosecutors said Hagino began harboring hatred for Horimoto because he thought she was disrespectful.
• Prosecutors said Hagino’s relationship with the girl deteriorated after her parents complained about the way Hagino had treated Horimoto when she had an individual counseling session in May.
• The prosecution said Hagino suspected an anonymous complaint in a cram school questionnaire that said he was hard to understand came from Horimoto.
• The Kyoto District Court said prosecutors demanded life imprisonment, but the court did not accept prosecutors’ demand that Hagino get life imprisonment.
• Presiding Judge Makoto Himuro said: "The cruelty of the crime is beyond description"
• Judge Makoto Himuro dismissed the defence argument that Hagino was mentally incompetent at the time of the crime, holding him fully responsible.
• Judge Makoto Himuro said the court concluded the actions were premeditated.
• Judge Makoto Himuro noted that Hagino had surrendered by making an emergency call to police.

Sentencing

• On March 6, 2007, the Kyoto District Court sentenced Yu Hagino to 18 years in prison.
• The court said it sentenced him to 18 years for fatally stabbing Sayano Horimoto.
• The victim's father, Tsunehide Horimoto, told a news conference: "The sentence is too light."

Appeals

• Prosecutors appealed, seeking a heavier penalty.
• On March 24, 2009, the Osaka High Court revoked the original sentence.
• The Osaka High Court resentenced Yu Hagino to 15 years imprisonment.

Outcome

• The final outcome was that Yu Hagino was resentenced to 15 years in prison on March 24, 2009.

Aftermath

• The case prompted the cram-school industry to review classroom safety and baselines for hiring teachers.
• Japan's Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura warned of a chain reaction of killings.
• Parents called for better security on the long walk that customarily takes many children to school.
• School uniforms fitted with global positioning transmitters were being sold.
• Some schools had fitted sensors in their gates that informed parents their offspring had arrived safely.
• Serious crimes are rare in Japan, but recent child murders prompted parents to demand increased security in schools.
• The shocking incident led to discussion about whether something was wrong with the moral climate in Japan.

Other details

• The BBC described that the incident became the third child to be murdered in Japan in the last three weeks.
• The BBC stated that there were no links established between the three latest murders.
• In two recent, unrelated incidents mentioned alongside the arrest, the body of a seven-year-old child was discovered strangled and taped inside a box in a car park, and another child of the same age was discovered stabbed and left in a forest.
• A Peruvian man was arrested over the first killing described in those unrelated incidents.