“… but few people have the balls to say this guy`s relationship with God and his moral values were in the same place where they are for many people living in Tokyo (including many foreigners living there) – in the sewer.”
——> Suicide bombers think they have a very close relationship to go. Is that a virtue? I don’t remember the last time an atheist suicide bombed a daycare…

Just because you think your religion gives you special morality does not mean it is true. open your eyes, the facts are that religion and violence go hand and hand. Believing in magic does not make you a more moral person.

But seriously. Japan does needs to work harder to help the mentally ill and reform worker’s rights. These are the real problems, not “godlessness.”

Before you answer, why not scroll up a bit and read what I wrote instead of latching onto one line out of context?

After World War II In Japan life was very difficult, therefore, Kato`s parents or grandparents probably went thru much greater difficulties and psychological traumas than he did. They did not resolve their problems by going out on a killing rampage, though – I bet their sense of morality was more healthy than Kato`s. This guy has no excuse whatsover for what he did, though as a Christian I do hope that before he dies he will repent of his sins and receive Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 3: 1-9

Godlessness in the Last Days

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth — men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

But in all seriousness, you sound like you’re biting the media’s version of the “otaku criminal”, hook, line, and sinker.
There’s a similar trend in the tabloids of Western countries (maybe mainly the US?), where rational thought on cause and effect suddenly fly out the window when violent videogames are blamed for criminal behavior.

There’s nothing wrong with pointing it out in itself. But to state overtly or implicitly that that is the cause of heinous behavior is irresponsible as well as insulting to those who enjoy the hobby without going around stabbing people. It also casts otakus and their hobby as the cause, averting attention from the real causes like what makes these people such a loner in the first place.
As is with the clip on the “Fuji TV focuses on Akihabara killer’s love of anime” article, even merely mentioning at the beginning and end of the segment is still a not-so-subtle message by the program that anime is somehow to blame for his stabbing frenzy.

I personally would call that scapegoating.

scapegoat otaku again

Again?

Despite an interest in (usually pornographic and/or violent) manga and anime and being loners being the connecting threads between virtually every mass-murderer or serial killer from Tsutomu Miyazaki to now and that being perhaps unfairly harped on, there are still few, if any, laws censoring the manufacture, marketing, sale, or distribution of manga, anime, or video games and there are certainly not discriminatory laws against people who are interested in those or other products associated with otaku. How are otaku being scapegoated?

Pointing out that the men who have committed this type of crime in Japan over the past couple of decades have tended to share interests with otaku is not scapegoating. Considering that this is not even the first incident of its type this year, for investigators and authorities to look into every angle would be irresponsible, no?

Saying that people who like Gundam have to register would be out of bounds, but saying that the interaction between Kato’s state of mind and interests led to his actions is perfectly reasonable.

back on topic, “self, family, neighbors then community”? there is not supposed to be a “self” in traditional japanese culture. people define themselves entirely by the groups they belong to. with respect to something like the akihabara attacks i would imagine kato is an example of a loner who finds himself alienated from any group (moved away from the hometown, temporary worker, etc.) and is totally isolated. most japanese are not dynamic about their own social life and so it’s possible to get stuck in a rut.

so i would probably blame changes in social conditions such as traveling long distances for work and unsympathetic working arrangements (temporary working). these are pressures of modern society that japanese culture is ill-adapted for and a return to traditional culture is the very opposite of what is needed since social conditions have changed so much for most people

In 2006 and 2007 I was living in Tokyo and – like most gaijin – I was making a living by teaching english. I taught in Shinjuku, a place not dissimilar to Akihabara (minus some of the electronics and manga and its about the same). All of my lessons were 1 on 1, meaning that I had a fantastic insight into the minds of thousands of Japanese people from all walks of life. I worked in a few places, but the longer I worked in Shinjuku I could see it as a microcosm of Tokyo generally.

The thing to keep in mind is that a LOT of people move to Tokyo for university and subsequently work. In the case of Tomohiro Kato he reportedly grew up in Aomori, a place which is famous for apples and little else. Aomori is essentially just an over-sized farm town. After leaving high school he went to Tokyo – to chase the dream of the big city.

Tokyo is an excellent place, but not a place for anyone who can not face the cold hard realities of suffering in this world – and especially not a place for those who are mentally unstable. In Tokyo you can see people flaunt their wealth in the form of expensive clothes, food, cars and women – while scores of homeless people sit in their cardboard empires, built under the Yamanote line.

In Tokyo you can see that money can buy everything. An endless neon wonderland where any sexual favour can be had (at a price). Kabuki-cho (in Shinjuku) offers blatant evidence that even the police can be bought (Don’t be ignorant and pretend it doesnt happen).

These things are realities of life. It is sad that while honest people in Japan work in their local convenience store for 800 yen an hour, others make enough money to spend 2 million yen in one night. These realities are ones which are hard to face, especially for a child fresh out of high school who most probably had lived the typical sheltered life of many Japanese children.

Japan’s government needs to realize that not everything can be controlled by force – especially the emotional well-being of people. They need to start in business – and start by forcing mandatory working limits, and working to help low-income earners in Japan (a category which I’m sure Tomohiro Kato fits into).

The Japanese government’s method of controlling unemployment has traditionally been to deny that a problem even exists. They seem to do this for a lot of issues – one of which is most definitely the social breakdown Japan is facing.

To Japanese people and those living in Japan: YOU PAY TAX FOR A REASON – WE OWN THE GOVERNMENT – MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD AND VOTE – BRING AWARENESS TO THE CORRUPTION OF GOVERNMENT FIGURES – DEMAND A BETTER LIFE FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR CHILDREN!

So “Israeli people are psycho killer waiting to happen and there will be another mass killing soon, just watch.” It that compliment?

Don’t get me wrong though, it’s absolutely disgusting what he did, he should have stabbed himself if he was so tired of his life.

Think the media should be more wary of not creating a twisted form of fame for this person.

But seriously, I really hope those still living make it through…