Masahiro Kanagawa

Case identification

Masahiro Kanagawa (金川 真大; Kanagawa Masahiro; born 1983) was a Japanese man.

Timeline

• March 19, 2008 — Yoshikazu Miura, 72, was stabbed in front of his house in Tsuchiura.
• March 23, 2008 — Kanagawa went on a stabbing spree in the area around JR Arakawaoki Station in Tsuchiura, killing Takahiro Yamagami, 27, and injuring seven others.
• April 14, 2008 — Kanagawa was rearrested over the March stabbing rampage.
• December 18, 2009 — The Mito District Court sentenced Kanagawa to death.

Background

Kanagawa was described as a lonely, unemployed man who liked games and was not good at communicating with others. He lived with his parents, two sisters and a brother in Tsuchiura. One of his schoolmates said Kanagawa did not have many friends, did not go out very often, and would suddenly get angry after losing games.

Kanagawa quit his part-time job at a convenience store in January. He then bought a kitchen knife and a survival knife, and wrote “death” on a wall in his room with a red pen.

Police said Kanagawa liked games and that he hid out in Akihabara while escaping. A part of mass media claimed that he murdered people under the influence of Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword. It was also reported that he reportedly sought capital punishment. Tomohiro Kato, who committed the Akihabara massacre, was alleged to have posted a message which referred to his case.

The offence

Earlier slaying (Tsuchiura)

Police searched for Kanagawa after Yoshikazu Miura, 72, was stabbed in front of his house in Tsuchiura on March 19. Police said Kanagawa became a suspect after his bicycle was found near the scene. Kanagawa admitted he killed Miura and did not know the elderly man. In addition, police said Kanagawa also considered killing his younger sister or attacking a local elementary school he had attended.

Stabbing spree around JR Arakawaoki Station (March 23, 2008)

Police said that on March 23 Kanagawa fatally stabbed Takahiro Yamagami, a 27-year-old employee, in the neck with a kitchen knife at a supermarket around 11 a.m. The supermarket was adjacent to Arakawaoki Station.

Kanagawa then attempted to murder seven others in and around JR Arakawaoki Station by stabbing at their necks and shoulders, police said. Police said the rampage took place even though eight police officers had been posted around the station following Wednesday’s murder, expressing regret for failing to prevent the attack.

According to police and witnesses, Kanagawa stabbed five people near the station’s ticket gate while walking from the west exit to the east exit, which led to a narrow corridor to the mall. He then attacked two more on the path before fatally stabbing Yamagami just outside the entrance. The 27-year-old died as he was being rushed to a nearby hospital.

Police said Kanagawa arrived at the station by train unnoticed and then committed the stabbing spree with a clear intent to kill, despite plainclothes investigators being on the lookout for him.

Victims

Among the victims of Sunday’s rampage was a 27-year-old man, Takahiro Yamakami (also referred to as Takahiro Yamagami), who died after being taken to a hospital.

The other seven injured people included a 62-year-old woman and an 18-year-old male student who were seriously wounded, and three other men and a woman between 16 and 60. The list also included a 29-year-old police officer from Tsuchiura police station, whose wounds were not life-threatening.

Investigation and arrest

After the March 19 slaying, police put Kanagawa on the wanted list Friday after discovering his bicycle at the crime scene and traces of Miura’s blood on clothes seized from his home. Police said Kanagawa was initially arrested on suspicion of murdering Miura.

On March 23, police arrested Kanagawa near the scene shortly after the attack. Kanagawa had been placed on the wanted list Friday on suspicion of fatally stabbing 72-year-old Tsuchiura resident Yoshikazu Miura on Wednesday. Four days later he went on a stabbing spree outside a shopping mall, killing another man and injuring seven others.

Police said Kanagawa was armed with a kitchen knife and a survival knife. The police received a call about the stabbing spree at around 11 a.m. and another one from Kanagawa himself, who was calling from an unmanned police box. “I did it,” he told them. Officers overpowered Kanagawa in front of the police box, which was about 200 meters from the train station.

Police said Kanagawa told investigators after his arrest that he “wanted to kill people,” and that he didn’t care who they were.

Rearrest (April 14, 2008)

It was reported that an unemployed man was rearrested Sunday over a stabbing rampage committed in connection with his own death wish. Ibaraki prefectural police rearrested Masahiro Kanagawa, 24, on suspicion of murdering a company employee and attempting to murder seven others in and around JR Arakawaoki Station in Tsuchiura last month. Kanagawa had already been arrested over a separate murder four days before the March 23 stabbing spree.

Police quoted Kanagawa as saying:

“I couldn't kill myself because it would be too painful.”
“I thought that I could receive the death sentence if I murdered a number of people.”

Police said that Kanagawa had told them, “I thought that I would kill seven or eight people,” when he arrived.

Mental condition examination

The Mito District Public Prosecutors Office conducted a basic examination on Kanagawa’s mental condition and found that he could be held responsible for his actions.

Trial and sentencing

Kanagawa pleaded guilty to murder and other charges and told the court he welcomed the death penalty.

It was reported that the Mito District Court presiding judge Shinichi Suzushima said, “The crime is evil... he killed and injured other people because he wanted to die,” according to a public broadcast report. The judge said the death penalty, demanded by prosecutors, was “unavoidable” after ruling that Kanagawa was mentally fit.

The Mito District Court sentenced Kanagawa to death on December 18, 2009.

Sentencing outcome

Kanagawa was sentenced to death by the Mito District Court on December 18, 2009.

Other details

Police described Kanagawa as liking games and not good at communicating with others. It was said that despite eight police officers posted around the station following the earlier murder, the rampage occurred.

A manager of a nearby cell phone shop said:

“I saw a young man collapsed, with a pool of blood around his head.”
“I can't believe this is happening in such a quiet town,” he said.

A female employee at a nearby beauty salon said:

“Four or five ambulances were here. I don't know what's going on here.”