Nevada-tan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nevada-tan | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 21, 1992 Japan? |
| Penalty | four years (original two years and additional two years) of involuntary commitment |
| Status | unknown |
| Occupation | student |
Nevada-tan (ネバダたん Nebada-tan?) is the Internet moniker of the 11-year-old Japanese schoolgirl who was charged with murdering her classmate Satomi Mitarai (御手洗 怜美 Mitarai Satomi?). The murder occurred on June 1, 2004 at an elementary school in Sasebo, Nagasaki, and involved the slitting of Mitarai's throat and arms with a box cutter. It has come to be known as the "Sasebo Slashing".[1]
Although the photos, which were claimed to be her photos, have never been proved truth[2], the cartoon began to appear on the Internet shortly after an image, which showed a girl wearing a pullover hooded sweatshirt with the word "NEVADA" emblazoned across the chest. The "-tan" suffix is a variation on "-chan", a children's honorific, while the sweatshirt is commonly worn by fans of the University of Nevada and its sports teams. Her real name has not been released to the press, as per Japanese legal procedures prohibiting the identification of juvenile offenders, and Japanese police referred to her as "Girl A".[3] Japanese internet community members rumored her real name, which hasn't been proved.[2]
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[edit] The murder
The 11-year-old schoolgirl murdered her 12-year-old classmate, Satomi Mitarai, in an empty classroom during the lunch hour at Okubo Elementary School in Sasebo. She left Mitarai's body at the murder scene and returned to her own classroom, her clothes covered in blood. The girls' teacher, who had noticed that both were missing, found the body and called the police.
After being taken into custody, she was reported as confessing to the crime, saying "I have done a bad thing" and "I am sorry, I am sorry" to police, though she initially gave no motive for the killing. Shortly afterward, she confessed to police that she and Mitarai had fallen out as a result of messages left on the Internet.[4]
On September 15, 2004, a Japanese Family Court ruled to institutionalize her, putting aside her young age because of the severity of the crime.[5] She was sent to a reformatory in Tochigi prefecture. The Nagasaki family court in 2004 originally sentenced her to two-years of involuntary commitment, but it sentenced her to additional two-years of involuntary commitment in September 2006.[6] On May 29, 2008, local authorities announced they will lift the restrictions of freedom on her.[7]
[edit] Reaction
News reported that there were slanders against her on the website and the murder may have been her revenge against Mitarai.[8] The murder sparked an ongoing debate in Japan about whether the age of criminal responsibility, shifted from 16 to 14 in 2000 due to the 1997 Sakakibara Seito murders in Kobe, needed to be shifted again.[9] Akio Mori utilised her for supporting his theory "Game Brain".[8]
There is some public speculation that she may be suffering from (and does fit some of the classic symptoms of) hikikomori syndrome, but as of the present, no medical examiners have made a formal declaration of that diagnosis. She was also showing signs of withdrawing from social life, including quitting clubs, although she continued to play physical sports, particularly basketball, until shortly before the incident.[10]
It appears that she was heavily influenced by some of the more visceral aspects of Internet culture. An analysis of the case states that she "was a girl fascinated with urban legends, internet subcultures, even going as far as guro. From her site she had linked shock flash movies and bizarre ASCII movies that would unnerve even the most hardened internet warriors."[11]
Members of the Japanese Diet came under heavy criticism for comments made in the wake of the killing, such as then-Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki claiming that the throat cutting was a "manly" crime.[12]
A Battle Royale fansite reported that the creators of the sequel postponed the release of the DVD (originally scheduled for June 9, 2004, a week after the killing) to later that year due to "current events."[13]
In the March 18, 2005 Okubo Elementary graduation, students were given a graduation album with a blank page, should the students decide to place pictures of Mitarai and her, or class pictures containing both, on them. The school announced that photos would be made available upon request. The photos were taken securely to the school, and destroyed after prints were made; there was some speculation that this was due to her Internet fame as Nevada-tan.[14]
[edit] Internet popularity
For reasons not fully determined, the Japanese web communities, primarily 2channel, fixated on this story and "adopted" the girl. Artists on 2channel soon turned her into a cute super deformed character dubbed "Nevada-tan."[2]
The Nevada-tan character is often depicted with short brown hair, the trademark pullover, and a crazed, murderous smile, and is rarely seen without a box cutter or other sharp implement nearby. A common representation of Nevada-tan is as ASCII art, similar to Giko, Mona, etc.[15]
In June 2005, the online store that sold the University of Nevada hooded sweatshirt reported it to be their best-selling item in the site's online statistics; a few weeks later, the University temporarily removed the sweatshirt from their catalog.
Nevada Tan was the former name of the German Nu Metal band Panik which formed in 2007 and has since released a very successful debut record in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Australian band Love Outside Andromeda wrote a song about the incident, entitled Boxcutter, Baby.
[edit] References
- ^ Japanese schoolgirl kills classmate. The Sydney Morning Herald (2004-06-02). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
- ^ a b c NEVADA (Japanese). Tsūshin-yōgo no Kiso-chishiki. Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
- ^ Japanese girl stabbed to death in school. China Daily (2004-06-02). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
- ^ Japan in shock at school murder. BBC News (2 June 2004). Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
- ^ "An 11-year-old Japanese girl to be placed in juvenile center over classmate's slaying", Associated Press, 2004-09-15. Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
- ^ Girl who fatally stabbed classmate to have freedom restrictions lifted. Mainichi Daily News (2008-05-29). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
- ^ Father of murdered Sasebo girl speaks on lifting of attacker's freedom restrictions. Mainichi Daily News (2008-05-30). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
- ^ a b Using computers for long hours may prompt children to behave violently, neurologists says. Medical News Today (2004-06-23). Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
- ^ Watson, Nicholas (June 21, 2004). Violent crime prompts debate over age of legal responsibility in Japan. Publique!. Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
- ^ Faiola, Anthony (August 9 2004). "Youth Violence Has Japan Struggling for Answers - 11-Year-Old's Killing of Classmate Puts Spotlight on Sudden Acts of Rage". Washington Post Foreign Service: A01.
- ^ NEVADA. Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
- ^ Ministers told to watch their mouths. The Japan Times (2004-06-12). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
- ^ BRII: Revenge DVD release postponed. Battleroyalefilm.net (June 9, 2004). Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
- ^ Murdered girl's classmates get blank page for killer in graduation album. Daily Mainichi (March 18, 2005). Retrieved on 2006-03-25. (link inactive since last access date)
- ^ ネバダアスキーアート01 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
[edit] See also
- Japanese Wikipedia entry on the murder case (Japanese)
