The Story of Junko Furuta
Since childhood I was taught by my parents and teachers that demons and monsters did not exist. But when I came to know about this case I realized that they had lied. Demons and monsters do have an existence in the world. They do not have big teeth nor huge fangs and nails, they have the same form as that of humans. But they are the demons from within, from their thoughts and actions.....
The case of Junko Furuta is the rearest of the rear case in the history of the world. It is one of the most gruesome and violent rape and murder case which had shocked the entire world.The case was given the name 'encased high school girl murder case' due to the state of her body which was found in a 55 gallon oil drum filled with 208 litres of cement.The crime was so much brutal and horrible that it drew a nationwide attention and thus Japan became a dreaded nation for years to come.After I realized the extent of brutality in the case I thought to myself that how can humanity be so cheap to some people? It's been 29 years but whenever I remember the ordeal which she had undergone, I get chills and shivers all around my body. Hence I would like to share the story of Junko Furuta and the ordeal which she had to undergo in those 44 days of captivity before her painful and tragic death preceded by an unimaginable and gruesome torture.
Junko Furuta :
22nd November 1971 - 4th January 1989
The Incident:
Junko Furuta was a young 17 year old Japanese girl leading a happy life with her parents in Misato, Japan. She was studying in the 11th grade at Yashio Minami high school in Saitama prefecture. Everything was very much normal in her life until 25th November 1988. On 25th November 1988, Furuta left for school from her home as usual. After her school got over she quietly walked for her home (according to some reports she was going for her part time job).On her way she was abducted by four boys Hiroshi Miyano (18 and the leader),
Jo Ogura (17), Shinji Minato (16) and Yasushi Watanabe (17). They took her to the house owned by the parents of Shinji Minato in the Ayase district of Adachi,Tokyo. As the boy's parents were living in the house, Hiroshi Miyano browbeat her into posing as one of the boys' girlfriend but when it became clear that the parents were either not interested to intervene he dropped this pretext.
As the girl did not return home for a so long time from school, obviously there was a growing tension among Furuta's parents and it was quiet clear that they will contact the police for help. To avoid and bypass this situation the boys coerced Furuta to call her parents and tell them that she had 'run away for a while but was with a friend and out of danger'. The girl was extremely frightened by the boys and did exactly what they told her. Little did she know that this was the biggest mistake she made by forestalling the manhunt which would have saved her from the perpetrators. Thus this was the end of her freedom and the beginning of her sadistic torture which would span for a duration of 44 days until her death.
While in captivity she requested the parents of Shinji Minato to help her more than once but they did not, later stating that they feared Hiroshi Miyano too much and believed that he will hurt them if they tried to help her. Hiroshi Miyano was involved with a lower level Yakuza at that time and threatened to kill anyone who intervened.
During their trial the boys confessed to have raped her, brutally beat her, introduced foreign objects including a still lit light bulb into her vagina and anus, forced her to masturbate, forced her to strip in front of others, made her drink her own urine and fed cockroaches, burnt her with cigarettes and many more violent and horrible acts.They also confessed that at one point her injuries were so severe that 'it took her more than an hour to crawl downstairs and use the bathroom'. It was also believed that apart from these four boys, Furuta was raped and abused by more people and possibly 100 different people knew that she was held captive.
When the boys refused to let her leave she begged them to "kill her and get it over with". On 4th January 1989 the boys challenged her with the mahjong solitaire game which she eventually won. The boys got even more infuriated and beat her with an iron barbell and then set her ablaze. After two hours Junko Furuta died of shock and due to her injuries. After endearing 44 days of crude and violent torture the girl's soul was finally freed.
The boys tied her arms and legs together and stuffed her mutilated dead body in a 55 gallon oil drum and filled it with 208 litres of concrete. Thus, due to this reason this case gained the above mentioned name. On 5th January 1989, the boys disposed her body in a tract of reclaimed land in Koto,Tokyo.
Arrest and Sentences
Junko Furuta's dead body was found almost a year after the crime was committed. The boys were then arrested and tried as adults but because of Japanese handling of crimes committed by juveniles their identities were withheld. However, a weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun revealed their identities stating that "Human rights aren't needed for brutes". The accused were identified as:-
Hiroshi Miyano,18 and the leader (later Hiroshi Yokoyama)
Shinji Minato ,16 (also known as Nobuharu Minato)
Yasushi Watanabe ,17
The boys pled guilty to a reduced charge of "committing bodily injury resulting into death" rather than murder. Hiroshi Miyano was originally awarded a 17 year imprisonment, one accomplice to a four to six year term, another accomplice to a three to four year term and another to an indefinite five to ten year sentence by a lower court. The leader and the first two of the three accomplices appealed in a higher court for lighter sentences but Justice Ryuji Yanase increased their sentences due to the nature of the crime, the effect on the society and the impact on the victim's family. The leader was awarded a 20 year sentence,the second highest possible sentence after life imprisonment,the accomplice who was given a four to six year term was awarded a five to nine year term and the other who was given a three to four year term recieved a five to seven year term.
For his participation in the crime, Jo kamisaku who was the sub leader in the crime, served an eight year term and was released in August 1999. However,in July 2004 he was arrested once again for having assaulted an accomplice Takatoshi Isono, whom he believed to be luring away a woman from him to whom Jo was attracted. Jo beat the man up and then shoved Isono into the trunk of his car and drove him to a bar in Misato owned by his mother and further assaulted Isono for 4 hours. Jo kamisaku was sentenced to seven years in prison. He completed his sentence and was released in 2011 as a 40year old man.
Junko Furuta's parents were extremely dismayed by the sentences and filed a civil suit against the parents of the boy in whose house the crime was committed and eventually they won the case. Hiroshi Miyano's parents sold their house for 50 million yen and payed it as compensation to Junko Furuta's parents. The sperm sample and pubic hairs found on Junko Furuta's body linked more boys in the crime. They were identified as:-
Koichi Ihara
Tetsuo Nakamura
However, they were never convicted in the case. As the crime was committed by juveniles, most of the details of the case were sealed.
The boys who had committed this heinous crime are all free men now. They are living a normal social life even after committing such a violent crime. Is this justice? Only five to twenty years in prison for such an inhuman kind of crime? But it is very obvious that these brutes won't enjoy their life happily. They will have a guilt within them. Such criminals have no right to live in this world. Hence, they will have to pay for their sin.
The Ordeal:
Junko Furuta was kidnapped and tortured in a very crude and sadistic way for 44 days. Below are the details of those 44 days of torture which she had to undergo.
WARNING: GRAPHIC AND EXTREMELY DISTURBING.
DAY 1: November 22, 1988:
Kidnapped
Kept captive in house, and posed as one of boy’s girlfriend
Raped (over 400 times in total)
Forced to call her parents and tell them she had run away
Starved and malnutritioned
Fed cockroaches to eat and urine to drink
Forced to masturbate
Forced to strip in front of others
Burned with cigarette lighters
Foreign objects inserted into her vagina/anus
Kidnapped
Kept captive in house, and posed as one of boy’s girlfriend
Raped (over 400 times in total)
Forced to call her parents and tell them she had run away
Starved and malnutritioned
Fed cockroaches to eat and urine to drink
Forced to masturbate
Forced to strip in front of others
Burned with cigarette lighters
Foreign objects inserted into her vagina/anus
DAY 11: December 1, 1988:
Severely beat up countless times
Face held against concrete ground and jumped on
Hands tied to ceiling and body used as a punching bag
Nose filled with so much blood that she can only breath through her mouth
Dumbbells dropped onto her stomach
Vomited when tried to drink water (her stomach couldn’t accept it)
Tried to escape and punished by cigarette burning on arms
Flammable liquid poured on her feet and legs, then lit on fire
Bottle inserted into her anus, causing injury
Severely beat up countless times
Face held against concrete ground and jumped on
Hands tied to ceiling and body used as a punching bag
Nose filled with so much blood that she can only breath through her mouth
Dumbbells dropped onto her stomach
Vomited when tried to drink water (her stomach couldn’t accept it)
Tried to escape and punished by cigarette burning on arms
Flammable liquid poured on her feet and legs, then lit on fire
Bottle inserted into her anus, causing injury
DAY 20: December10, 1989:
Unable to walk properly due to severe leg burns
Beat with bamboo sticks
Fireworks inserted into anus and lit
Hands smashed by weights and fingernails cracked
Beaten with golf club
Cigarettes inserted into vagina
Beaten with iron rods repeatedly
Winter; forced outside to sleep in balcony
Skewers of grilled chicken inserted into her vagina and anus, causing bleeding
Unable to walk properly due to severe leg burns
Beat with bamboo sticks
Fireworks inserted into anus and lit
Hands smashed by weights and fingernails cracked
Beaten with golf club
Cigarettes inserted into vagina
Beaten with iron rods repeatedly
Winter; forced outside to sleep in balcony
Skewers of grilled chicken inserted into her vagina and anus, causing bleeding
DAY 30: Hot wax dripped onto face
Eyelids burned by cigarette lighter
Stabbed with sewing needles in chest area
Left nipple cut and destroyed with pliers
Hot light bulb inserted into her vagina
Heavy bleeding from vagina due to scissors insertion
Unable to urinate properly
Injuries were so severe that it took over an hour for her to crawl downstairs and use the bathroom
Eardrums severely damaged
Extreme reduced brain size
Eyelids burned by cigarette lighter
Stabbed with sewing needles in chest area
Left nipple cut and destroyed with pliers
Hot light bulb inserted into her vagina
Heavy bleeding from vagina due to scissors insertion
Unable to urinate properly
Injuries were so severe that it took over an hour for her to crawl downstairs and use the bathroom
Eardrums severely damaged
Extreme reduced brain size
DAY 40: Begged her torturers to “kill her and get it over with”
January 1, 1989: Junko greets the New Years Day alone
Body mutilated
Unable to move from the ground
Body mutilated
Unable to move from the ground
DAY 44: January 4, 1989:
The four boys beat her mutilated body with an iron barbell, using a loss at the game of Mah-jongg as a pretext. She is profusely bleeding from her mouth and nose. They put a candle’s flame to her face and eyes.
The four boys beat her mutilated body with an iron barbell, using a loss at the game of Mah-jongg as a pretext. She is profusely bleeding from her mouth and nose. They put a candle’s flame to her face and eyes.
Then, lighter fluid was poured onto her legs, arms, face and stomach, and then lit on fire. This final torture lasted for a time of two hours.
Junko Furuta died later that day, in pain and alone. Nothing could compare 44 days of suffering she had to go through.
When her mother heard the news and details of what had happened to her daughter, she fainted. She had to undergo a psychiatric outpatient treatment . Imagine her endless pain.
Junko Furuta's story in popular culture:
The girl's story inspired several writers and directors to represent it in movies and novels.At least three Japanese-language books have been written about the incident.An exploitation film, Joshikōsei konkurīto-zume satsujin-jiken (女子高生コンクリート詰め殺人事件, Concrete-Encased High School Girl Murder Case), was made about the incident by Katsuya Matsumura in 1995. Yujin Kitagawa (later a member of the music duo Yuzu) played the role of principal culprit.[6][7]
Another film, Concrete (コンクリート, aka Schoolgirl in Cement, 2004), was based on one of the books written about the incident.
Seiji Fujii wrote a novel about the case, 17-sai, which was turned into a manga by Youji Kamata. Contrary to what had really happened, the novel shows a happy ending for the girl, who survives and her kidnappers are sentenced to jail for many years. Waita Uziga (author of Mai-chan's Daily Life) also made a controversial manga, Shin Gendai Ryoukiden, about the case, with much more violent and crude content.
The visual kei band The GazettE wrote a song named 体温 (Body Temperature) in memory of Junko Furuta, which figures on the album NIL.
Junko Furuta rest in peace:
Hence, as I am about to conclude my story I would pray to the Almighty to bless Junko Furuta's soul and give her eternal rest. May her soul enjoy your holy company. I would also like to pray that such an incident never occurs with anyone else in the future. Rest in peace dear Junko Furuta.
