The terrible murder of Junko Furuta, who lived 44 days in hell
This story is a horribly gruesome one. All murders are terrible, but the murder of Junko Furuta takes it to a whole other level of terror. The hardship Junko had to endure before her life was snuffed out was unbelievably cruel. It’s the kind of crime that makes you wonder how such horrible human beings could exist.
How could four high school boys imprison someone in such a hell?
Perhaps more importantly, how could any criminal justice system let them off as easily as they were let off? It will shock you what little retribution was handed out for their brutal slaying of Junko.
Motive for killing Junko Furuta
Junko was a good girl who lived in Misato, Japan. She didn’t drink, she didn’t smoke, and she was well-loved by her classmates. Junko was a beautiful sixteen-year-old and this likely contributed to her popularity. Unfortunately, her beauty caught the eye of the school bully as well. When Hiroshi Miyano asked Junko out and she respectfully but firmly declined, this made him furious.
Miyano was not used to being said no to. He was not only the school bully, but a known affiliate of the yakuza. The yakuza are essentially the gangsters of Japan, a huge crime organization known country-wide for their ruthlessness. Naturally, Miyano was set on revenge.
On November 25, 1988, as Junko was biking home from her baito (part-time job), a random boy assailed her. Junko fell off her bike as the boy ran away and Miyano, “fortuitously” across the street, ran over to help her. Miyano offered to walk her home. Unsuspecting Junko accepted the offer. Little did she know, Miyano and three other high school friends were completing their plan to capture her.
The four boys responsible for the capture and subsequent torture of Junko Furuta are Hiroshi Miyano, Nobuharu Minato, Kamisaku Jo, and Yasushi Watanabe.
At first, Miyano raped her repeatedly in an abandoned warehouse, but he and his friends decided it would be more fun to completely kidnap her. They brought her to Nobuharu’s house and there subjected her to even more brutality. The boys forced Junko to call her parents and tell them that she was running away and not to look for her because she was doing well.
Junko’s next 44 days were filled with unimaginable pain. 100 different men (mostly other yakuza members) would rape Junko over 500 times. She was raped, sodomized, beaten, and starved. They amused themselves by forcing her to masturbate in front of them and inserting different objects into her genitals.
The following objects were cruelly inserted into Junko’s vagina: scissors, a bottle, an iron bar, a hot exploding light bulb, grilled chicken skewers, roasting needles, and an exploding firework. Junko’s internal organs would be subjected to so much trauma that she eventually lost control of urinary and bowel movements. When the men & boys got too disgusted to continue sexually assaulting her, the severity of the beatings increased.
Among the other many sick things involved in this case, the parents of Miyano knew about the girl being held captive in their house. At first, they had been convinced that Junko was Miyano’s girlfriend, but when Junko begged them to help her escape they became fully aware of the horror that was taking place. The Minatos were too afraid of reprisal from the yakuza and would later blame Junko for Nobuharu’s imprisonment.
Junko’s torture continued: they urinated on her, hung her from the ceiling & used her as a punching bag, crushed her stomach with dumbells, smashed her face against the cement floor, beat her with golf clubs & iron rods, forced her to eat live cockroaches and drink her own urine, made her sleep on the balcony in the cold winter, stuck her in a freezer for hours, and twisted off one of her nipples with pliers.
Twenty days into her torture Junko managed to dial an emergency number, but the boys snatched the phone from her and hung up before Junko was able to say anything. As punishment, they poured lighter fuel on Junko’s legs & feet to set them on fire, burned her eyelids with lighters & hot wax, and smashed her fingers.
One day, a boy who had participated in one of the raping sessions felt guilty so he told his parents what they had done. His parents called the police and sent them to the Minato household. When police arrived the Minatos acted surprised and said they had no idea what they were talking about. The Minatos even went as far as even inviting them inside in a ruse to show they had nothing to hide.
Foolishly, the policemen decided it must be true the Minatos were guiltless if they were inviting them in, so they left the house without even searching for Junko. Who knows if Junko might have survived her ordeal had they just gone in and adequately checked the situation.
On January 4, 1989, the boys challenged Junko to a game of Mahjong. Even in her brutalized state Junko beat the boys, and this sent them into a rage. They poured gasoline all over her and set her on fire again. Junko went into convulsive seizures that the boys thought she was faking. She died a few hours later.
In order to get rid of Junko’s body, the boys put her corpse in a 44-gallon drum, filled it with cement, and discarded it in Tokyo. It wasn’t until about a year later that authorities located Junko. One day when they were questioning Miyano about a different girl, Miyano thought they had evidence about Junko and confessed to what they had done to her prematurely.
Shockingly, because the boys were underage by Japanese standards (Hiroshi, 18; Jo, 18; Nobuharu, 16 ; Watanabe, 17) they were given lenient sentences. Miyano received a twenty year sentence, and others only seven. By now, all four boys have been released from jail and have not proven to have turned their lives around.
Out of the money that was ordered to be given to the family of Junko Furuta ($425,000 in restorations) by the Mr. and Mrs. Minato, zero cents actually went to the Furuta family. The Minatos ended up giving the money from selling their house to the Nobuharu, Watanabe, and Jo when they were released from jail.
The men used the money to party. Miyano had still been in jail at the time, and his mother went out of her way to desecrate Junko’s gravesite. With inconceivable audacity, Miyano’s mother blamed Junko for her son being in jail.
How on Earth so many injustices were committed over the course of this one tragic case is a mystery to this day. It’s unthinkable that so little justice was served for this poor girl’s 44 days in hell.
Nadezhda
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They learned their contempt for innocent life, lack of compassion, misogyny and cruelty from their parents.
April 25, 2020Begum
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The perpetrators of this crime are a bunch of psychopaths. The magnitude of this crime clearly transcends simple “evil”. They are irredeemable, and I don’t know how they didn’t get at least life sentence.
May 31, 2020More than that: Did seriously NONE of the neighbors hear anything for more than 40 days? Given the atrocities committed there, Furuta’s screams must have been easily heard.
Really gross.
Dolly
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This poor girl junko ……is unjustified…. She needs justice… Shame on the judge…. My tears came out…. How can a human do such a thing…. I’m speechless…… They are humans better they are called evils….. Even hell sounds better place….
June 16, 2020Dolly
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Is this what junko’s family got…… They need justice…. How can a human do this …..they should not be called humans….. Even animals are better then them…… What kind of judge this Japan has…. Shame….. Even after those hell days junko was still breathing…. She ask the boys to better kill her…… But boys didn’t…. They keep torturing her….. Don’t they have even a little mercy for the poor girl…. What she has done them…… Did she kill their parents…. Even in age of 16 -17 how can they think of doing such things….. They should be punished…. What they have got is nothing…. For the 44 days hell for junko…….im also a girl I can feel how she has been in trouble…… My tears continusly fall down……………… This is not call justice…. Shame…..
June 16, 2020Sheikh
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Yeah ever since I heard about this case I am trying to find out how this went on for 44 days. They made her sleep outside, did no one see her? They literally set her on fire, did no one her the screams? So many men came to the house, did no neighbour find that suspicious? It was the house of one of the kidnappers, where did the parents live? I am not able to find answers to any of this
August 31, 2020I'd rather not say...
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The parents were obviously knew that Junko was held captive by the boys, yet they didn’t contact the police as they were aware of the yakuza and were afraid that they might harm them if they left Junko escape. I’m not sure about the neighbours not able to hear her screams and see her ay outside, they too may be aware of the yakuza conditions true. Yet, the judge did not give them any death penalty, which annoys me.
October 24, 2021koko
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nobody seen here because there was a bush as a fench that coverd most of the house
June 6, 2023Blue Otis
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What’s hard to fathom is how out of the hundreds of men who violated this child, only one had the decency to report it. And even then the report was not fully investigated. Why?
This case is unspeakably sad. RIP sweet girl.
January 30, 2021Literallyfuckedup
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The judge wanted to give the boys severe sentences, but he couldn’t due to the Japanese legal system. Junko never deserved this
June 26, 2020Kushinasama
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Is it possible to resentence them?
December 10, 2021Noty
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Unfortunately you cannot be tried for the same crime twice
April 9, 2022Ava
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Why!? I’m speechless.. How could someone be so… No NOT JUST ONE PERSON A GROUP! A group of awful… AWFUL PEOPLE
July 13, 2020If I could save Junko I would. I feel so bad.. They should have gotten thrown in jail for life.
ahrianna
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this made me so sick i know fully hate men
July 19, 2020Robert
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I understand that but know that even though men commit the most vicious acts on others, men also stand up and stop such evil behavior. Every time I read about attacks like this, it enrages me to my core. People like these attackers deserve zero mercy and only severe punishment.
July 30, 2020Adam
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I’m sick of the Yakuza, they don’t deserve anything! As a man, I understand your disgust, this is beyond words! How could anyone do such an act and get away with it? However, I’m glad to see other people helping each other, I’m sure everyone can agree that these demons deserve punishments
August 10, 2020Bruce
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I am a man and this story has haunted me for a year now. I haven’t been able to forget it. It seriously damaged me. I feel so awful for that poor girl and I’m so angry at everyone that was involved. Please don’t think all men are like this. The people that did this are psychopaths.
October 21, 2020Justice for junko
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words would fail me to express myself. The reason why the judge would say such trash is because its not his daughter, i mean how can these monsters be set free so easily because they are under age? but their crimes over age, junko did die of trauma cause she was still in torment and torture, she couldnt even live to tell her story, what a life, what a world… and yet no “good” justice was served on her behave, what kind of picture are we painting to these animals in human form. This is horrow! i have not been myself ever since i read her story. My heart continue to bleed… no words to adequately express my self… may God deliver us. Amen
March 7, 2022Callie Peugh
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you dont need to say in the beginning of your comment if your a man- wtf this case is traumatizing to the whole human race.
March 13, 2022Anonymous
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MAYBE…… A bit too far. Not all men are like that. This is way more crazy, and horrifying than most cases, but not all men are like this.
December 15, 2020black muslim in america
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No one does, but I am a woman and I fear for my LIFE. I had variations of this talk from my father since age 8. How can just 4-5 men cause so much pain in a young girl’s life? This world is twisted and broken, and no wonder everyone here is so upset. I can’t even walk to the mall without worrying about some creep following me…
just sad. Pray for that sweet girl. I don’t even know her and I already feel so much pain and love for her
A boy once saved me in 3rd grade from a creep like that. I am SO grateful, and that boy is a great friend of mine nowadays. PLEASE HELP A GIRL IN NEED =(
March 22, 2021Anna
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We shouldn’t be hating men, as men do go through this as well and woman can be just as evil and monsterus. we should be hating the people who think like this. who act like this. these people were awful and i hope the rot in hell but we shouldn’t be hating on all men. its not men to blame. its people.
May 19, 2021Karagan M.
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Not all men are bad, but some are straight from hell. I’m so sorry, beautiful. You did not deserve this kind of cruelty whatsoever. As for the heartless thugs who had the insanity to do something to a sweet young lady makes me want to throw up. This is unacceptable. God will punish them. Rest well, sweet Junko. God heard you, He will bless you in Heaven.
August 5, 2021Himadri Chakraborty
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It is really inhuman.Those who committed this heinous crime should have been shot dead.No mercy to these animals.It will be incorrect to call them animals;Animals are better than them
October 13, 2020Abha jaun
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I.. I.. I am wordless searching for what to say Japan one of the most developed country shame on you how do you even think this is justice I really want to have a time machine and go back to that time and save Junko omg May her soul rest in peace
October 19, 2020MJ
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Japan did vile things to prisoners in WW2. These people are barbarians.
September 15, 2021Anonymous
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I- Im in shock. This is absolutely disgusting. These people deserve the most pain a human can feel.
December 12, 2020Anonymous
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As a 13 year old kid, I obviously didnt see this absolutely horrifying, and disgusting, and so f***ed up case coming. Who can wake up one day, and say that they are gonna kidnap an innocent girl and do the horrifying things they did to her. I am so angry at those men.
December 15, 2020Anonymous
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This horrifyingly cruel and viscious to the lowest levels of evil and depravity. They had not an ounce of mercy for that poor girl who did nothing to them. Jail and death sentence is not nearly enough to atone for their heinous inhuman sadistic crimes. They absolutely deserve to be slowy killed and tortured for 44 days, no make that 50 days rounded up in interest payment for the trouble and for initiating and inflicting this sadistic sickness on the poor girl in the first place.
December 19, 2020Anonymous
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And girls, don’t be too trusting or afraid to be impolite. Say NO. Or if your instincts are telling you get away, GET AWAY and RUN immediately and as if your life depended on it because it more than likely might.
December 19, 2020Anonymous
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A prime example of human depravity. The fact that so many people were involved is beyond disgusting. Shame on Japan for not severely prosecuting everyone involved to the severest degree. When the legal system fails it would be nice to see justice carried out by independent means…
December 22, 2020Sumyung Spunktub
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But that’s exactly what happened; the justice system failed, four innocent boys had their lives ruined, so one of their mothers took her vengeance on the grave of the woman responsible. Surely that’s what you wanted? The Yakuza are about honor, an eye for an eye. There will be far more to this case than is reported here; if some peasant girl was ‘raped’, then you can be sure that one of her ancestors greatly wronged a member of the wise and powerful Yakuza, in some heinous way. Imagine, for example, if your mother or father was once contradicted by a commoner, or had their drink spilt all over their fine clothes, by some clumsy sub-human ‘worker’. Surely you would deman that their oldest daughter were raped and murdered, at the very least?
December 24, 2020s
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“Justice by Independent Means” is a stupid idea. It is akin to raising militias in a peaceful nation to summarily execute lawbreakers. Yes, the ruling was disheartening and truly saddening, yet it isn’t the fault of the judge or the country, more or less on the fact that Japan has a modern Education of Justice when it comes to the Youth (comparative to other developed nations, i mean). Yes, it is sad that only 1 was punished, though I do not think in the least the nation or its’ legal system should be shamed.
March 14, 2021Sumyung Spunktub
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I can’t believe the racism here. Four innocent boys had their lives ruined, and now they and their families have to put up with being slandered. Disgusting.
December 24, 2020Debra Simons
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I am hoping you are being facetious because otherwise you sound insane.
January 4, 2021This was a monstrous horrible Act of torture and murder and the monster humans should be eliminated forever.
Michelle R
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Are you serious right now. By no means are these four monster innocent. I hope they get the punishment they deserve when they die. You Sumyung Spunktub are unbelievable for claiming their life is ruined. So, them raping and doing this to a ‘peasants girl was okay?! How would you feel is this was someone you knew or love?!! You’re sick!
February 6, 2021Ada
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This poor girl. May she rest in peace where harm will never find her again. For those who took part in these awful crimes… their punishment wasn’t even close to being any kind of justice. All I can say is they will truly have to answer for their actions someday. It’s then their deserved punishment will greet them. May they not be shown even an ounce of mercy.
December 25, 2020Lainey
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There has to be something missing from this story. Nobody heard this child’s screams? This is just terrible! I can’t… 😑
January 1, 2021Debra Simons
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This was monstrous and horrific. Anyone who participated in this abominable acts of torture and inflicting such Agony On This innocent young woman should forever more pay with their lives and they should suffer as she did in the process. They must be eliminated
January 4, 2021Cerise
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EVIL..MONSTERS!! my gosh I dont even have words nothing cpuld come close to describe what this poor innocent young little girl went thru. I have read about alot of serial killers and as horrible as they were the good thing is they are dead now and these 4 boys should be to. These are 4 boys can you believe it 4 BOYS who committed these acts and tortured and horrified and heinously did such unimagionable undescribable unbelieveable things to this young girl. Those boys absolutely knew what thry were doing and premeditated thr entire abduction and torture for this poor girl. No one can even begin to describe all the pain and suffering this girl went thru. I am shocked about this nightmare and more so at how nothing was done to the parents who turned their heads but especially how those monster boys didnt recieve anything for their crimes of horror and brutal abuse to this girl. This makes me so angry to know these worthless punks that dont deserve to breath are still breathing and no consequences came to them. Well nothing to mention. I would have allowed a gang of girls to string them up in public nude and cut on them and slice off their penis and cut their tongue out of their mouth and shove a pipe up their rearends and whip them with a whip and cut off tips of their fingers and slice off some of their lips and toes. Brand them with a hot poker and whip them somemore. I could go on and on with this. I cant believe a group of ppl havent kidnaped them and tortured them to death. This is so unbelievable and the judge should be caugbt to and strung up. What the hell is wrong with ppl? I am so so sorry Junko for what you had to experience in your short little life and how you were treated and how your end was so revolting and disreguarded. I know your in heavenwith our heavenly father. He will see that they are punished in ways we could not even imagine. There is a good place for them in a burning hell that is so hot where they will burn and burn for all eternity. They will scream in agony for ever and ever and beg to get out but never will. I have heard of very bad things happening and murder is aweful but this is way beyond anything i have ever heard of. This is just so heartbreaking for Junko, an innocent girl with a bright life and family ahead of her and how she was robbed of having a life with children and a career. Who knows she may have been an astronaut or a doctor or a teacher or a engineer or who knows what but it was taken from her and this is just so sad . I pray for this family i know is still suffering from what happened to their little girl. God please be with them and give them peace.
January 30, 2021Kylie
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Don’t worry God chose an even worse fate (or punishment) than Junko Furuta I hope she’s okay in heaven she was too young to die though once I go to heaven I will literally do the same thing to the 4 boys well not the raping part it’s too gross even though they already die they can still feel pain
February 13, 2021Kylie
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Me: I wish I was born the same time as Junko Furuta because if I was there I will kick their ass off and then I will stab. them roast them in a grill and feed them to someone I hate most than them. I will also tell Junko to go home and I will handle this even though it’s 1 against 4 boys I will litterally tear off a piece of metal and kill them all >:D
February 13, 2021Kieran
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You were beautiful Junko, I pray you are in heaven
February 15, 2021Ask
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This was premeditated murder, sexual assault, sexual battery, imprisonments, severe torture, starvation, mental/emotional/physical cruelty, etc,, These boys should’ve received life sentences. They were 17 and 18, not young innocent boys who didn’t know what they were doing. The parents should’ve also been sentenced because they knew what was going on in their home. Her parents should’ve pressed charges against those parents as well as the police department. Their negligence cost this girl’s life. I cannot believe the parents sold their home and gave the money for the boys, instead of complying to the court order to pay her parents. Simple, they didn’t pay, they should go to prison. There was no way this girl could’ve run away because these boys had a plan in place. She wanted to live. When she pleaded to the parents for help, they should’ve let her go. How can anyone think these demons were innocent boys? Some say someone in her family did something to this crime family. If this was the case, they would’ve killed that person on the spot. This was about entitled thugs who had bruised egos. Those demons and their parents deserve the same 44 days of torture. She did not deserve this.
February 18, 2021doug adams
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if this had happened to one of my sisters my father and my mother would have hunted those boys down and beaten them to death
February 26, 2021Silla
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YOU BETTER BELIEVE GOD HAS A SPECIAL PLACE FOR EVIL PEOPLE LIKE THAT. AND SHE DID NOT HAVE TO GO THRU THAT. BUT MAY HET REST IN PEACE AND BE WITH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND I PRAY THEM PEOPLE GET WHAT THEY DESERVE. BECAUSE KARMA IS A BITCH.
March 7, 2021Lee
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This was made into a movie called concrete its very sad and what she went through was unthinkable
March 7, 2021Shanita Price
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This is the most disgusting, vile, inhumane thing I’ve ever read. The Japanese justice system failed this poor girl. And there is no excuses for it. 7 & 20 years doesn’t even begin to touch the punishment they deserve. 20 years, at the very least, should have been the amount of time they were tortured, without killing them, before spending the rest of their pathetic lives in prison. And the restitution her family was owed…how did that end up in the hands of her murders?! Why was that never questioned and corrected. These monsters and their families deserve the harshest punishment possible. But instead, it seems like the victim and her family were the only ones punished. This is so unbelievably heartbreaking and unfair. We can only hope karma serves them their deserved punishment. They deserve a second of peace for as long as they breathe the air on this earth. Lord help this family and show them some sort of justice for these monsters and the vile behavior they inflicted on this poor undeserving young girl. She didn’t deserve that and they deserve far more punishment than received. Please allow this family the closure to see them live in hell on earth for the rest of their pathetic lives.
March 11, 2021e
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It didn’t fail to do justice as much as it did obeyed its’ own laws. If the statue for Minors was the same for adults, you could potentially have tweens and young teens executed bi-yearly. She did not deserve what the got, no, though in no way is it the fault of the judge or the Justice System. They simply did what they were supposed to.
March 14, 2021Corey
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Two of the boys raped another girls after they got out of prison. So, the judge who resided on Junko’s case and gave them those jokes of sentences is responsible for another girl being assaulted by these animals. – And what about all the gang members who also tortured and raped her? Have they been arrested? – Just sickening to read this.
March 21, 2021Kushinasama
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Agreed. But, this happened in 1988-1989. Sexual assault wasn’t punished enough then. Junko was raped at least 400 times and yet this is what their sentences were. It should’ve been a death setence. For all of them.
December 10, 2021Mary Larson
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Evil monsters,deserve a taste of their own medicine!!
May 16, 2021Gen
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That’s brutal. Why it didn’t surprised me enough is in India there are such unimaginable cases unsolved or even worse.
July 2, 2021And wt surprised me is those 100 criminal didn’t get the punishment they deserve. They should hv gone lot worse than hell
Pau
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Mother of lord, how the hell are these perpetrators still alive to this day? The amount of crimes they commited to just one girl is unfathomable… Damn.
September 9, 2021demon slayer
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if only i was alive that year and i was an assasin i would assasinate those criminals without having any mercy at all.
September 28, 2021I'd rather not say... (She/her)
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I just don’t get it! The punishments were too light. I mean, they will be adults after spending their time in prison and can be sentenced to death, right? The judges didn’t knew what he was even thinking, after their release, the 4 boys still committed crimes. Poor Junko didn’t deserve this. And the parents of Minato and the neighbours weren’t even knowing that even if their life would cost saving Junko, they might have been that one angel who saved her.
October 24, 2021Your average doomscroller
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This is horrifying, let alone the fact the 4 LITERAL KIDS were HIGH SCHOOL BOYS, the poor innocent girl full of life was deprived of her rights and her body and mind horribly tortured. RIP
and why not give death sentences to the 4 boys AT LEAST
negligent police played a part to, maybe junko could’ve been saved.
September 25, 2022manamabet
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It didn’t fail to do justice as much as it did obeyed its’ own laws. If the statue for Minors was the same for adults, you could potentially have tweens and young teens executed bi-yearly. She did not deserve what the got, no, though in no way is it the fault of the judge or the Justice System. They simply did what they were slotfun.online
September 30, 2023