Pod Insights Crime, Conspiracy, Cults and Murder Ep. 98 | Tortured for 44 Days Straight | Junko Furuta About this episode Abducted by teenagers and held captive for weeks, this tragic case reveals how fear, silence, and missed chances to intervene allowed horror to unfold in plain sight.
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0:49 Speaker 02 A 17-year-old girl finishes her shift at a factory in a quiet Japanese suburb. And she heads home, riding her bike through the dark streets. But, she would never arrive. And for the next 40 days, she endures suffering that defies comprehension. This is the case of Junko Furuta. Crime, conspiracy, cults, serial killers and murder. All things that I love to consume, and I know you do too, you sick, twisted, beautiful, intellectually-minded freak. Uh, listen, today, this is going to be a, a very, very, very rough case. This is, I believe, the most recommended case that you guys have asked me to cover, so I am covering it.
1:32 Speaker 02 But just giving you all the warnings right now. This video contains detailed descriptions, so viewer discretion is advised. So if you're sticking around for this case, let's unbuckle our seatbelts, go muckfire down the highway, slam on the brakes and bust through the windshield into this highly disturbing case together.
2:04 Speaker 02 Junko Furuta came into the world on January 18, 1971, and she was born into a household that, while not wealthy, was rich in terms of love. Her father, Akira, worked as a business director at a canning factory, and her mother stayed home to raise the children. And the family's finances were modest, and Akira carried the weight of providing for everyone on his shoulders. And Junko was the middle child, with an older and younger brother. And by all accounts, the Furuta home was a happy one, and her parents encouraged Junko to chase her dreams, and she would. And Junko was the type of girl to help her mother with chores around the house without being asked. She was very devoted to her family, and she
2:48 Speaker 02 adored them, and they adored her back. And the Furuta lived in Misato, a town in Saitama Prefecture. And I just want to apologize quickly if I'm saying anything wrong. I have all the pronunciations up for myself, but I'm sure I'm still saying them slightly off, so apologies in advance for that. But Saitama sits in the southeastern part of Japan, within the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan area. But it was a relatively nice community, and Junko would greet her neighbors politely whenever she saw them, always considerate and respectful. So it had been clear that she was raised right. And everyone who knew Junko described her in the same way: friendly, kind, beautiful, and popular. She had a lively spirit and
3:32 Speaker 02 a charm that just drew people into her, and her classmates and teachers all liked her, by all accounts. Yet, unlike many teenagers her age, Junko stayed away from drinking, smoking, and drugs. And this earned her a reputation among some of the rowdier kids at school, because they saw her as naive, a good girl, if you will, and her close friends would call her "Jun-chan," which, from my research, is a term of endearment in Japanese, but correct me if I'm wrong. But Junko was also known to be very generous as well. And when she visited friends' homes, she would bring small gifts for their family. Just because she could. And at seventeen years old, Junko was a senior at Yashio Minami High School in the Saitama Prefecture.
4:15 Speaker 02 And she was an excellent student. Her grades were high and her attendance was nearly perfect. She belonged to Class 38, a group of forty-seven students who had grown close over the years. And that fall, her class had worked together to make happy coats, which are traditional Japanese festival jackets for the school's cultural festival. And it was a memory her classmates would hold on to in the years to come. But Junko had a secret dream. She wanted to become an idol singer. But it was the kind of aspiration she only shared with her closest friends. Something precious and private. Because her hobbies were quieter, simpler things, like she loved to bake and to knit, and she loved going to the beach.
4:56 Speaker 02 And she also had a boyfriend, and his name, or at least that pseudonym used to protect his identity, was Kawamura. And when Junko was with him, he quit drinking and smoking because she asked him to. So clearly, she was a great example to other people. Because that was the effect she had on all the people around her. Basically, she just made them want to be better. And just two days before everything changed, on November twenty-third, nineteen eighty-eight, Junko celebrated Kawamura's birthday. And she gave him a black sweater she had knitted herself, saying, quote, "Please wear this," unquote. And she had also baked him a cheesecake, which he later said was delicious. And they went bowling that day, and they made plans to go skiing together that winter.
5:40 Speaker 02 So in October of nineteen eighty-eight, Junko took a part-time job at a plastic molding factory. And she also worked as a salesperson at a household goods store. Because Junko wasn't the type of person to just sit around and let life happen. And her father worked hard to support the family, and Junko wanted to help him out too. Because that was just the type of person that she was. And she also wanted to save money for a graduation trip, which is a beloved tradition for Japanese students as they finish high school. But Junko was thinking even further ahead. And she had already accepted a position at an electronics retailer. And after graduation, she would begin her career. So on November 25th, 1988, everything would change.
6:22 Speaker 02 Because Junko would be finishing her shift at the plastic molding factory, and she would clock out around 8:20 in the evening, and climb onto her bike and head home through the dark streets of Masato. And her mother was expecting her home by around 8:30. But by 10 o'clock, Junko had not come home. And by 11, her family was frantic. And they called her workplace, but coworkers confirmed she had left on time. And they walked her usual route, calling her name into the night. But they found only one thing: her bicycle lock that had been discarded near a park. So the Furuta family reported their daughter missing the next day. And the police took the report and made a note in the file saying, "Teenage rebellions are common. She'll probably return home when she's ready."
7:06 Speaker 02 Unquote. That was their assessment. And as we know, Junko was not that type of teenager. It's just, if they thought to ask any questions about her, they would know that. But she was just kind of brushed aside. And meanwhile, two young men on motorcycles had been circling the streets of Masato that night. And they were hunting, as they've done multiple times before. And when they spotted a young girl riding her bicycle home from work, they saw exactly what they were looking for. And four teenage boys would be responsible for what would become one of the most heinous crimes in Japanese history. 18-year-old Hiroshi Miyano, 17-year-old Joe Ogura, 16-year-old Shinji Minato,
7:51 Speaker 02 and 17-year-old Yasushi Watanabe. And two other boys would play smaller roles. And their names were Tetsuo Nakamura and Koichi Iharu. And they were both 16. So Miyano was the oldest and the one in charge, the ringleader, if you will. And he gave the orders and made the decisions. And he set the tone for everything that was going to happen. And Ogura seemed to be the second in command. And when he made a suggestion, Miyano listened. And one of his suggestions would be the one to seal Junko's fate. Yaminato was the youngest of four. But his family's home would become their base of operations. And Watanabe rounded out the group.
8:34 Speaker 02 And he would play a supporting role of all the horrific things that were going to happen to Junko. So Miyano was born on April 30th, 1970, in Adashi, Tokyo. And his family appeared respectable on the surface. His father worked at a securities company while his mother taught piano. But there was another side to the family. Because Miyano's grandfather had reportedly been a soldier with political connections to the Yakuza. And his uncle was said to be a high-ranking official within the organized crime syndicate. And at school, Miyano was known as a bully. And he openly bragged about his Yakuza connections. And whether those ties were as strong as he said, or they were exaggerated, the reputation served him well, and people were afraid of him.
9:18 Speaker 02 And a psychological evaluation conducted later revealed that Miyano had a learning disability as well. And according to the assessment, it did not impair his brain function, but delayed his emotional development. Which I don't think is an excuse for anything that's going to happen at all. Um, but it's worth note. But it would have some effect on his choices. Miyano was living with his girlfriend at the time, who happened to be the older sister of Yasushi Watanabe. And she eventually ended the relationship after he joined a gang and started committing horrible SA crimes. But all four boys had dropped out of high school by the summer of 1988. But Miyano's troubles had started long before.
10:01 Speaker 02 And he had already been shoplifting and damaging school property at that point. And the pattern only continued and escalated as he got older. But Minato's background was different. And he was born in 1972, and his parents were reportedly Communist Party members who raised him strictly. But that didn't matter in the end. Because by 16, he had fallen in with Miyano's crowd. And they were scum of the earth. And they would collectively become chinpira, or low-ranking Yakuza. Essentially, street-level thugs. And starting in October of 1988, they drove right into a spree of criminal activity. Including purse snatching, car theft, extortion, assault, and rape. And they would become serial SA predators.
10:46 Speaker 02 And they would have a system. They knew how to identify targets, and most of the time, they let their victims go afterward. But Junko would be different. So on November 8th, they abducted a 19-year-old woman in Adachi. And they would take her to a hotel, gang rape her, and then let her go. And this was their pattern: abduct, assault, and release. So once they had all dropped out of school, they needed a place to hang out. And Minato offered his family's home in Adachi, and it became their base of operations. And it was a place where the adults seemed unwilling or unavailable to stop whatever was happening under their roof, so they're just as complicit, in my opinion.
11:27 Speaker 02 And they operated as a unit committing crimes together, just covering for each other. And on the night of November 25th, 1988, Miyano and Minato climbed onto their motorcycles. And they rode through the streets of Misato, looking for a woman to rob and then abuse. So as we know, Junko had just finished her shift at the plastic modeling factory and headed home on her bike. And the streets were dark, but she knew the way. But little did she know that Miyano and Minato were out hunting. So as they were riding on the streets, they would spot Junko. She was alone, and she was vulnerable, just the type of person they were looking for.
12:07 Speaker 02 And what happened next was extremely coordinated, because Miyano gave the order and Minato executed it. So as Junko pedaled along, Minato drove his motorcycle toward her and kicked her off her bike, and she would fall to the ground. And before she could process what was happening, Minato sped away into the night. His job was done. Now it was Miyano's turn. So Miyano approached Junko as if he had witnessed the attack by coincidence, and he played the concerned stranger, helping her to her feet. And he asked if she was okay, and she was shaken and vulnerable, and here was this helpful guy offering to walk her home safely. So naturally... Junko would accept.
12:49 Speaker 02 She had no way of knowing that the stranger who had attacked her and the stranger helping her were actually working together. So Miyano walked her away from the street, away from home, and toward a nearby warehouse. And once they reached the warehouse, the mask came off. And Miyano told Junko he was a member of the Yakuza, and he would only spare her life if she did exactly what he said. And that is when he would essay her for the first time and threaten to kill her if she made any noise. And afterward, Miyano took Junko by taxi to a hotel in Adachi, where he would essay her again. And from the hotel room, he called Minato's house and bragged to Agura about what he had done.
13:32 Speaker 02 And any other scenario for them would have ended there. Again, they never held their victims after what they did what they wanted. But Agura's response would determine everything that came next, saying, quote-unquote, "Don't let her leave." So around 3 a.m. on November 26, Miyano brought Junko to a park near the hotel. And there, the three others were waiting in the darkness: Agura, Minato, and Watanabe. And they would surround her and told her that they knew where she lived, and that the Yakuza would murder her family if she tried to escape. And then, according to some accounts, the other three boys would essay her there in the park.
14:14 Speaker 02 So Junko was completely alone, terrified for her life and the lives of her family, just surrounded by her attackers in the middle of the night, absolutely petrified. I can't even imagine how she was feeling. But the boys needed somewhere else to take her, because they weren't done yet. And Minato offered his family house, the same house the group had been using as a hangout since they dropped out of school. And he agreed to let them hold Junko in a room on the second floor. So they smuggled her into the house under the cover of darkness. So Junko would be held captive and confined to a room on the second floor of the Minato family home. And the house sat in the Ayase district of Adachi in north-central Tokyo.
14:57 Speaker 02 And it was by all accounts an ordinary residence in an ordinary neighborhood. So there was really nothing to suggest the horrors that would be happening inside. But from November 26th, 1988 to January 4th, 1989, Junko remained trapped in that upstairs room. So two days after Junko vanished, her parents went to the police. And the boys knew an investigation could unravel everything. So they forced Junko to call her mother. Three times, she was made to pick up the phone and perform their script. Emiano allegedly held a knife to her throat once while she spoke, saying, quote, "Mom, I'm sorry I worried you.
15:40 Speaker 02 I've run away, but I'm safe with friends. Please don't look for me," unquote. And her mother heard her daughter's voice, and then the line went deaf. But it didn't sound quite right, and she was not convinced. And Junko was also forced to tell her mother to call off the police investigation. And the deception did work. And when police heard that the missing girl had contacted her family, they reclassified the case as a voluntary disappearance. And the search for Junko effectively ended before it began. So in the beginning, the boys forced Junko to act as Minato's girlfriend when his parents were around. And the parents, of course, did not believe the story.
16:21 Speaker 02 And they knew something was going on, but they said nothing. And they did nothing. And eventually, the boys stopped even bothering with the charade once it became clear that Minato's parents weren't going to report them anyway. Which just makes me so sick to my stomach to think that these people didn't save this girl. It's just, ah. It's just gonna get rough from here, so forewarning. So Junko was not completely hidden from the world as we know. And Minato's parents obviously knew a girl was in the house and that she hadn't left for an extended period of time. And Minato's brothers knew too. And the brothers' only action was to later inform Minato
17:05 Speaker 02 that Junko appeared to be dying, dying, and no one said anything. But the parents would later offer explanations, claiming they were afraid of their own son, that he had become increasingly violent toward them. Then lock him up! Get him investigated, you could call the police, they could see that he's torturing someone, all like- I don't know. I don't know. I just, this infuriates me. This case infuriates me. But they said they feared retaliation from Miyano and his Yakuza connections. And some accounts suggest that they were also worried about their reputation in the community, which I'm gonna assume is the biggest reason, to be honest. Because you bet your sweet ass I would lay my life down on the line to help save a girl
17:50 Speaker 02 that I know is being tortured. Are you fucking kidding me? Like, I can't believe it. Anyway. But the Minato family were not the only ones aware of Junko's presence. Because at one point, a boy was invited to the house by Miyano, and he saw her. And he went home and told his brother, who told their parents, who then contacted police. And officers were dispatched to the Minato residence. But the Minatos told police there was no girl inside because they're pieces of shit, even offering to let the officers look around. And because they had no reason to doubt the parents, the police declined to search. They left. Everyone failed Junko in this scenario.
18:32 Speaker 02 And Junko would remain trapped upstairs, and the torture would continue. And what Junko endured over those forty days defies all comprehension. Because the abuse was relentless, and only got worse as the days went by. Physically, she would be beaten repeatedly with fists, bamboo sticks, golf clubs, iron rods. And at some points Junko would be hung from the ceiling, and they used her as a punching bag. Not to mention, they would drop dumbbells onto her, which destroyed her internal organs, but she would remain alive. And they would also drop those weights on her hands and her fingers, which naturally would shatter her fingernails and bones.
19:17 Speaker 02 And they also burned her repeatedly, using lighter fluid, setting multiple body parts on fire. And they would drip hot wax onto her face and her eyelids. And they would stab her chest with sewing needles. But they would torture her in ways too horrific. To fully describe and the sexual violence was constant. They would SA her as a group repeatedly and during these SA's they would use foreign objects, including a metal rod, a bottle, scissors, skewers, lit matches, and lit fireworks. This is a hard one to get through, sorry.
19:59 Speaker 02 And according to some accounts, as many as 100 different men were invited to the house over the course of her captivity. They treated her suffering as entertainment and as if the physical torture wasn't enough, they tortured her psychologically as well. And they would force her to dance unclothed while playing music and they made her do things to herself while she was in front of them and she would remain unclothed for almost the entirety of this entire time. And sometimes they would make her stand on the balcony when it was freezing outside and when they grew bored, they actually would put her inside a freezer for hours and they
20:42 Speaker 02 would force her to eat live cockroaches and would make her drink her own urine and would make her consume large quantities of alcohol, milk, and water. And they would force her to smoke two cigarettes at once and to inhale paint thinner fumes. And they would tell her lies designed to break her spirit further, like that her father had died in an accident, which wasn't true. I just, I can't.
21:12 Speaker 02 The level of evil in this specific case, just.
21:18 Speaker 02 It makes me physically ill. I've had to stop multiple times while filming this, so I apologize. I'm trying to keep myself together.
21:28 Speaker 02 But this one just
21:32 Speaker 02 has impacted me a lot. Not that, not, not that all of them don't. It's just this one in particular has been very tough to get through. And in December, Junko would try to escape, but unfortunately she would fail. Because later on, during a night when her captors had gotten wasted, Junko saw an opportunity. And she crawled downstairs and found a phone and called the police. But before she could say a single word, Miyano caught her. And he snatched the phone away, telling the officers it was a mistile. And the police called back to verify, but Miyano assured them the call had been an accident. And the police, flat out, just accepted his word and didn't even check on what was going on in that flat.
22:14 Speaker 02 So Junko's desperate attempt to save herself had fallen through. And sadly, there would be consequences. And the punishment was severe. And the punishment would be setting her on fire and placing her head on concrete and stomping on it. And they would punch her in the face over and over. So the message was clear. There would be no escape for Junko. And within days of this torture, her body was already beginning to fail. And it was around December where Junko began pleading with her captors to just end her. Because she could not bear anymore.
22:54 Speaker 02 Because by December 10th, the burns on her legs were so severe that she could no longer walk properly. And after 20 days of captivity, she had lost the ability to walk entirely. And by late December, Junko was dying because she was severely malnourished. Because her captors had given her only small amounts of food, eventually reducing her diet to nothing but milk. And her body couldn't process even basic sustenance. And dehydration caused her to vomit, which just upset her captors and led to more abuse. And eventually, she couldn't even keep water down. Not to mention, she could no longer walk. She couldn't walk to the toilet. So she just laid on the floor. Too weak to move.
23:39 Speaker 02 And due to the abuse, she was almost not recognizable. And her wounds were getting infected and the burns covering her body had begun to rot. And the smell of decaying flesh filled the room. And the stench became so overpowering that the boys soon lost sexual interest in her, which led them to go out and kidnap another nineteen-year-old woman on December twenty-seventh instead. And it would be this crime that would eventually lead to their arrest. So the final attack would happen on January fourth, nineteen eighty-nine. And the night before, Mianu had allegedly lost money playing Meijiang. And when he woke up, he was angry and he needed an outlet. So he chose Junko.
24:23 Speaker 02 And according to court testimony, Mianu challenged her to a game of Meijiang that day. And this was the fortieth day of her captivity. And as we know, she could barely move at this point. Yet, despite everything, Junko was barely aware enough to play. But she would actually beat him at the game. And Mianu and the others went into a rage. And what followed was the most brutal assault of her entire captivity. And they would repeat the abuse they had done before with candles and wax and beatings and making her drink her own urine.
25:04 Speaker 02 And eventually, she would fall onto a stereo unit and begin having convulsions. And by this point, her body was so decayed that they didn't want to even touch her directly. But at this point, she was bleeding heavily. So they covered their hands with plastic bags before continuing, making sure they wouldn't be stained by her blood. And this is when they would continue to beat her. Until finally, Mianu doused Junko with lighter fluid and set her on fire. And she apparently made weak attempts to extinguish the flames, but shortly after it happened, she would stop moving. So this final assault lasted approximately two hours.
25:47 Speaker 02 So Junko had finally died from the injuries sustained during that final assault. And she died at approximately 10 a.m. on January 4th, 1989. And less than 24 hours later, Minato's brother called to deliver the news. The girl upstairs appeared to be dead. And she would be only months away from graduating high school and achieving everything that she wanted to achieve. But these fucking scum, monsters, just waste of oxygen people, took that away from her. And she'd never have the chance to realize her dreams of becoming an idol singer. And she would never go on that ski trip with her boyfriend.
26:31 Speaker 02 And these things were stolen from her by these evil human beings. But these boys did not feel any remorse for what they did to Junko. And all they felt now was fear, fear of being caught, fear of being charged with murder. And now they had to deal with her body. So they would wrap the corpse into a blanket and then stuff her into a large travel bag. But before sealing the bag, Miano added one final item. Because during her captivity, Junko had mentioned something to her captors. She regretted not being able to watch the last episode of Tonbo with her family.
27:11 Speaker 02 And Miano found that videotape of the final episode and placed it in the bag alongside her body. And he would later claim he did not do this out of pity or remorse. He was just afraid she would come back as a ghost to haunt him. And this travel bag wouldn't be enough. So the boys got a 55 gallon metal drum and put the travel bag containing Junko's body inside. And they filled it with wet concrete to seal her away, fully hidden from discovery, or so they hoped. Now, the drum needed to disappear, so they found a spot to hide it. And they found a vacant lot near a construction site on the island of Wakasu in Koto, Tokyo.
27:53 Speaker 02 And it was a popular illegal dumping ground for all sorts of junk. Like refrigerators, washing machines, rusted equipment. Surely, one more oil drum wouldn't attract any attention, they thought. So on January 5th, 1989, the day after Junko passed away, the boys loaded the concrete-filled drum into a vehicle. And at approximately 8:00 PM, they dumped it in that vacant lot among the other discarded items. And they drove away. So Junko had been reduced to garbage, left to be forgotten. And Junko Furuta's body lay encased in concrete for nearly three months. And no one found her because no one was looking. And as far as the police were concerned, she had just run away from home. Case closed.
28:38 Speaker 02 And the discovery would come not through investigation, but by an accidental slip of the tongue. So in early 1989, police caught up with Miano and Agura. And the woman they had abducted on December 27th, while Junko was still suffering in the upstairs room, went to the police. And on January 23rd, 1989, Miano and Agura were arrested for the kidnapping and SA of this woman. And they were in custody and facing charges. But nobody knew about Junko, the girl they threw away, at least not yet. So two months passed. And on March 29th, 1989, two police officers arrived to question Miano and Agura further. And during searches of their residences, investigators had discovered women's underwear,
29:23 Speaker 02 and they wanted answers. Because they were investigating a different murder. A woman and her seven-year-old son had been killed nine days before Junko's abduction. And the case remained unsolved. So during the interrogation, the officers mentioned this was an open murder investigation. And they meant the mother and son. But Miano heard something else. And he panicked. Believing Agura had already confessed to killing Junko, he assumed the police knew everything. And as we know, he was wrong. So thinking the game was over, Miano told the officers where to find the body. And the police were confused, since they were still asking about a completely different crime. But now they knew, and it couldn't be taken back. So Miano had accidentally turned himself in.
30:07 Speaker 02 For the murder of Junko Furuta. The police were recovering the body. So armed with Miyano's confession, investigators went to Wakasu, and they found the vacant lot and the 55 gallon drum. And on March 29th, 1989, police recovered Junko's body. And that's when they would break through the concrete, extracting the travel bag and the blanket wrapped around her remains, and the videotape of Tonbo. And when they weighed her body, it registered just 44 kilograms, approximately 97 pounds. And visual identification at this point was impossible since Junko's face had been beaten so severely. Not to mention, the weeks of decomposition sealed in concrete
30:50 Speaker 02 left nothing recognizable of the girl who had once smiled in pictures. So investigators returned to her fingerprints, and they confirmed her identity. And the autopsy revealed the full extent of what she had suffered. And it also revealed that Junko had been pregnant at the time of her death, making the situation just that much more horrific. So the investigation moved quickly after Miyano's confession. And on April 1st, 1989, Ogura was arrested for yet another essay. And he was subsequently rearrested for his role in Junko's murder. Emanato and Watanabe were taken into custody shortly after. Emanato's brother, who had known what was happening and did nothing, was also arrested.
31:33 Speaker 02 And Tetsuo Nakamura and Koichi Ihara were identified as participants in the essays as well. Because DNA evidence found on and inside Junko's body confirmed their involvement. And prosecutors decided that Nakamura and Ihara would face charges of rape only. And the four main perpetrators would face the full weight of Japanese justice for juvenile offenders for her confinement and murder. So the first trial began in July 31st of 1989 in Tokyo. And under Japanese law at the time, anyone under 20 was considered a juvenile. And this meant that all four main perpetrators qualified. But the court would hide their identities at the time. And in official documents, they became letters.
32:17 Speaker 02 Mianu was A, Agura was B, Minato was C, and Watanabe was D. But Junko Furuta received no such protection. And she was reportedly designated as E. But that anonymity ultimately meant nothing for Junko. Her real name and photograph were splashed across every newspaper and television program in Japan. So the court protected the identities of the killers. But it did not protect the identity of their victim. But luckily, given the severity of the crime, the four boys were actually tried as adults in Tokyo's District Criminal Court. And this was very rare for juvenile offenders. But even that exemption came with caveats.
33:01 Speaker 02 Because the court still granted them protections normally reserved for juveniles, which is juvenile, honestly. And the trial itself was difficult to endure. And as prosecutors described what had been done to Junko, some people in the courtroom fainted. But all four defendants entered guilty pleas. But not to murder. They instead pleaded guilty to committing bodily injury that resulted in death. And this distinction mattered in terms of intent. Because murder implied intent to kill. Bodily injury resulting in death suggested something less deliberate and thereby earned a lesser sentence. Because somehow, 40 days of systematic torture only added up to bodily injury that resulted
33:45 Speaker 02 in death in the eyes of the law of Japan. So on July 20, 1990, the court announced its verdict. And Mianu, the ringleader who orchestrated the abduction, led the torture and set Junko on fire, received 17 years. That's it. That's disgusting. And during his trial, a prosecutor reportedly told him that if he had committed the crime just a short while later, when he was no longer a juvenile in the eyes of the law, he would have faced the death penalty. Yet he was being tried as an adult, but they still treated him as a juvenile. It will never make sense to me, and I think it is abhorrent. And Mianu's response was cold, saying, quote, "In this country, there is no chance to do
34:30 Speaker 02 something like this, other than when you are a minor," unquote. And he dismissed Junko with indifference. She, quote, "was just unlucky enough to get caught," unquote. And Agura, who told Mianu not to let her go, received Five to 10 years. And Minato, who supplied the torture room, received five to six years. And Watanabe, still a full participant in everything that they did to her, received three to four years. But the defendants were not satisfied. They wanted even less time. So Miyano, Minato, and Watanabe appealed their sentences. And the appeals went to the Tokyo High Court.
35:15 Speaker 02 And the higher court disagreed with the original sentences, but not in the way the defendants hoped. And the Tokyo High Court instead increased the punishments, luckily. Miyano's sentence was raised for 17 years to 20, still not enough, which is the longest sentence typically handed down in Japan, short of life imprisonment. Minato's sentence was increased to five to nine years, and Watanabe's sentence was increased to five to seven years. And the presiding judge, Ryujii Yanase, explained the court's reasoning. The sentences were increased because of the nature of the crime and the effect on the victim's family and the broader effects on society. Now, Watanabe appealed to Japan's Supreme Court.
35:59 Speaker 02 And in July of 1992, his appeal was denied. The sentences were final. So how did the perpetrators of one of the most horrific crimes in Japanese, just the history of the world, receive such lenient sentences? Well, Japan's juvenile law was built on rehabilitation. The goal was not to punish young offenders, but to educate and reform them. And there was also something known as the Nagayama standard. And under Japanese legal precedent, the death penalty was rarely applied in cases with only one victim. And law professor Hiroshi Itakura later explained that the difference between this case and harsher sentences came down to victim count and demonstrable premeditation.
36:44 Speaker 02 And in the Furuta case, the court found that the intent to kill was uncertain. The torture had escalated over time, and death had been the result, but perhaps not the original goal. Who the fuck cares? They killed her! They tor- I just don't-
37:04 Speaker 02 This case infuriates me and makes me so incredibly sad. Like, it's, ugh. The world is, can be a disgusting place. Despite the ever escalating brutality, the court wasn't sure if they had meant to kill her or not. Miyano's defense also presented additional mitigating factors, like the psychological evaluation showing his learning disability. No words. And his parents reportedly sold their home and paid 50 million yen, roughly $350,000 at the time, in compensation. And some would later argue that Miyano's Yakuza affiliations influenced the verdict they received at trial, lessening their sentences to be far too lenient compared to what they should have been.
37:49 Speaker 02 And naturally, the sentences ignited a firestorm, and legal professionals were divided. And a survey by the Asashi Shimbun newspaper found that a majority of lawyers and judges considered the sentences appropriate based on precedent, but the public felt different. Citizens were outraged, rightfully so. And Tokyo's police department and courts received a wave of letters and calls demanding life imprisonment or the death penalty. And newspapers published editorials calling the verdict "a failure of justice." And victims' rights organizations demanded reforms to Japan's juvenile laws. And though the court had sealed the perpetrators' names, not everyone agreed with the law.
38:31 Speaker 02 A journalist from Shukan Bunshun magazine uncovered the identities of all four perpetrators, thankfully. And on April 20, 1989, they published the names. We need somebody like this for the fucking Epstein files. Seriously. And Kazuyoshi Hanada, the editor in chief, later explained the decision, saying, quote, "To make a long story short, we decided that beasts don't have human rights." Unquote. Couldn't have said it better myself. And Hanada acknowledged that publishing the names violated juvenile protection law, but there were no penalty regulations in place to punish them for doing so, luckily. And the boys' names became public, and the whole nation now knew who they were. So Miyano served his full 20-
39:13 Speaker 02 ...a 20-year sentence and walked out of prison in 2009. And he's 39 years old at the time. And he changed his last name to Yokoyama in an attempt to create a fresh start under a new identity. So there you go. Now you know his name. Here it is on screen. And the man who emerged from prison, shocker, was not reformed. And in January 2013, Yokoyama was arrested on suspicion of bank fraud and placing scam phone calls. And he refused to speak during questioning. And without sufficient evidence, he walked free again. And reports paint a picture of a man living well despite his past. And he wears expensive clothing and drives a BMW.
39:55 Speaker 02 And according to a journalist who spoke with Jose Seven Magazine, he often visits a kickboxing gym surrounded by followers. And he takes them to barbecue parties and hostess clubs. And Miyano consistently boasts about his continued ties to the Yakuza. And he brags about his involvement in pyramid screams and multi-level marketing operations. So basically, he is still the monster that he was years and years ago. And he is just walking free. But the ringleader of Junko's torture and murder is just living freely. And I, I hope to God that karma comes for him, or Junko's ghost comes for him.
40:38 Speaker 02 Because he deserves nothing. He doesn't deserve air. And Joe O'Gura was released in August 1999. And he changed his last name to Kamisaku. So this is his name now. And at first, it seemed like he might build a normal life. And in 2000, he married and moved to Chibe Prefecture, though the marriage did not last. And then his past would catch up with him. And his colleagues discovered who he really was, which caused him to lose his job and reconnect with the Yakuza. And in July 2004, he committed another violent crime. And Kamisaku believed a 27-year-old acquaintance named Takatoshi Isono was involved with his girlfriend. So he abducted Isono, forcing him into a trunk of a car.
41:23 Speaker 02 Car and driving the man to his mother's bar in Misato, where he beat him for four hours. And during the assault, he told his victim that he had killed before, and he said that he knew how to get away with it. So Kamisaku was sentenced to four years in prison for this offense. And after his release in 2009, he lived alone in an apartment in Saitama, surviving on welfare. And his father allegedly wanted to give his life savings to Junko's family out of shame. The only good person in the story, basically, besides Junko and her family. But being the piece of shit that Kamisaku was, took that money and spent it on himself. And his mother allegedly vandalized Junko's grave, stating that Junko had ruined her son's life.
42:08 Speaker 02 So, she's a fucking piece of shit. It just illustrates the twisted influence she had on her son. But Kamisaku would luckily die on July 16th of 2002 at 51 years old. And his head would become wedged between the toilet bowl and a tank, and he choked on his own vomit. So, fitting death for this piece of shit human being. Now, Minato was released in 1998, and he moved in with his mother. And years passed without incident. Then, in 2018, he resurfaced. And Minato was arrested of suspicion of attempted murder. And during a dispute over a parking spot in Kawaguchi, Saitama, he struck a 32-year-old man in the shoulder with a metal baton
42:53 Speaker 02 and slashed the man's neck with a knife. And when police arrested him, he said, quote, "I certainly stabbed and beat him, but I did not intend to kill him," unquote. And he told officers he kept the knife and baton in his vehicle for self-protection. And the arrest should have been major news, considering one of Junko's killers had attempted murder nearly three decades later, but the story received almost no mainstream attention. And Chu Kan Chinchou noted that virtually no outlets reported that Minato was one of the four men who killed Junko. And in 2019, Minato was sentenced to one year and six months. For attempted murder!
43:30 Speaker 02 And he was suspended with probation for three years. Now, Watanabe was released in 1996, and of the four, his path was the most different. He moved into an apartment with his mother in Tokyo, living in isolation, rarely leaving his locked room, and he had withdrawn from the world entirely. And by 2005, Watanabe had developed a neurodegenerative disease, but his family could not afford treatment. And his mother described his condition as "a disease that 'turned his brain into a sponge.'" Womp womp! And Watanabe died in May of 2021 at 49 years old. And he was the only one of the four who did not commit additional crimes after release. That we know of!
44:14 Speaker 02 You know, I don't trust the system at all, so whether this was due to reform, his deteriorating health, or his complete withdrawal from society is impossible to know. And Nakamura and Ihara had both been 16 when they participated in the assaults, so they were sent to juvenile detention and were both released by 2000. And in the years that followed, both got married and had children. And according to reports, they disclosed their involvement in the case to their spouses. So three of the four main perpetrators committed additional crimes after release. And though the Japanese juvenile justice system was built on rehabilitation, the Junko Furuta case put that belief to the test, and it failed.
44:58 Speaker 02 And an article in Shukan Shincho described the subsequent arrests with a single phrase: "A defeat of the juvenile law." So Junko Furuta's funeral was held on April 2, 1989. And had she lived, the very next day would have been her first day of work at the electronics retailer that had hired her. During the ceremony, one of her friends delivered a eulogy written by her classmates, saying, "The happy we made for the cultural festival looked wonderful on you. I'll never forget that." And they acknowledged her suffering, expressed grief, and made a promise: "A vow to fight for a world where such crimes could never happen again."
45:40 Speaker 02 And the electronics retailer brought the uniform Junko would have worn and her parents placed it in her casket. And at graduation, the principal presented Junko's diploma to her parents. And all forty-seven students in the Class 38 graduated together with her name among them. And the impact on those closest to Junko was devastating, because after her mother learned the full details of what had been done to her daughter, she reportedly had to be admitted to psychiatric hospital. And Junko's boyfriend, Kawamura, did not attend the funeral, because he could not bring himself to go. And instead, he went to the place where her body had been dumped. And after her death, he started drinking and smoking again.
46:22 Speaker 02 And years later, he spoke about the perpetrators, saying, quote, "I remember their faces, and when they come out, I want to kill them in the same eye," unquote. But the criminal sentences had left Junko's family feeling betrayed, because the price Japan's court placed on their daughter's life was far too small. But criminal court was not their only recourse. And the Furuta family filed a civil lawsuit against Minato's parents, because the crimes had occurred in their home and they did absolutely nothing about it. And the Furuta family won, and the court awarded them fifty million yen. And to pay the judgment, the Minato family was forced to sell their home. But of course, the money could never restore what had been taken.
47:06 Speaker 02 But at least, it was something. But the murder of Junko Furuta is considered the worst case of juvenile crime in Japan's post-war history. And the case forced Japanese society to confront uncomfortable realities. Four teenagers had committed acts that defied comprehension. And the case also raised awareness about issues beyond this single crime, things like bullying, violence among young people, and the importance of bystander intervention. And over a dozen people had known about Junko's captivity, yet none of them saved her. But online memorials continued to remember Junko, emphasizing something extremely important: She was not just a victim. She was a person with dreams, a family, and friends. Who love her.
47:51 Speaker 02 The memorials ask us to remember Junko as she lived and not as she died. And that is how I will choose to remember her. And I hope that is how you will choose to remember her for the wonderful human being that she was. But that is the end of the case. If you have any other cases you want me to deep dive into, let me know down below. I always put the comments and take care of yourself, please, and your mental health. But yeah, stay safe out there and I will see you beautiful face in the next one. All right. Bye.
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