What is junko furuta?

Junko Furuta

Junko Furuta (古田 順子, Furuta Junko, January 18, 1972 – January 4, 1989) was a Japanese high school student who was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered in Ayase, Kanagawa, Japan in late 1988 and early 1989. The brutality of the crime, coupled with the young age of the victim and perpetrators, caused widespread shock and outrage in Japan.

The kidnapping occurred on November 25, 1988. Furuta was abducted by four male high school students: Hiroshi Miyano, Jō Ogura, Shinji Minato, and Yasushi Watanabe. The perpetrators forced her to call her parents and tell them she had run away from home, effectively isolating her from rescue.

Over a period of 44 days, Furuta was held captive in the home of one of the perpetrator's parents. During this time, she was subjected to horrific acts of torture including beatings, starvation, sexual assault, and mutilation. The details of the abuse are extremely disturbing and are widely documented.

Despite the presence of the perpetrator's parents and other family members in the house, Furuta was unable to escape or seek help. It is believed that the perpetrators' parents were aware of the situation but either feared their sons or were complicit in the crimes.

On January 4, 1989, after weeks of unspeakable abuse, Junko Furuta was murdered by her captors. Her body was then placed in a metal drum and buried in concrete in a construction site.

The perpetrators were eventually apprehended and tried as juveniles due to their ages at the time of the crime. However, the lenient sentences they received sparked public outrage and criticism of the Japanese juvenile justice system. The details of the case were heavily publicized and contributed to debates about the rights of victims versus the rehabilitation of young offenders. The names used during the trial were pseudonyms to protect their identities as minors, but their real names became widely known through unofficial channels.