Minimum Tempo

Most (or all) of you have heard that a man has murdered seven and injured eleven in a rampage in Akihabara. I’m not here to give you the news, but I’m here to give you my thoughts.

Many people are likely thinking, similar to Setsuna-san of Full Moe Panic, “what the hell was going through that bastard’s mind when he went on a rampage?” Many of you may be disgusted and repulsed by such actions. A lot of you may be angry because this may tarnish otakus and Japan in general.

double of Furu Anime Panikku said, “Die alone, fucktards who enjoying committing such acts. Don’t drag the rest of the world down with you to the pits of hell.”

That is a pretty hateful thing to say.

Now, can we try to understand him? Of course what he did will never be reasonable; he shall never provide, in any shape or form, a good explanation that perfectly supports his killing that is acceptable to anyone. But even then, we need to realize what made this man commit such a heinous act and how we can prevent such a tragedy.

‘‘I came to Akihabara to kill people,’’ Kato says. ‘‘I am tired of the world. Anyone was OK. I came alone.’’

We know that Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world - over 30,000 people take their lives each year. This obviously there is something wrong with Japanese society; I don’t mean to attack it, but I’m pointing out that something is making these people feel suicidal. Too much criticism? Too high of expectations? Whatever the case may be, the same things may have made this man tick and say, “Fuck the world, I’m tired of living.” And then he might have thought, “Why should anyone else be happy and live when I’m so unhappy and stressed?”

That’s one of the many reasons that could’ve gone through his head. There are tons of eager shoppers in Akihabara, many of them who generally seem happy or at least content; Kato might have looked at them in disgust, driven by his own perverted thinking.

He did something wrong, but he’s not solely to blame. The things to blame are the ones that pushed him to become this way, or any corrupted or misguided individual or group; why do we often forget the circumstances that put them into such a situation? Yes, he should’ve sought help and he shouldn’t have killed those people. But maybe this was (unfortunately) his cry for help?

If one feels suicidal, he or she is often not thinking clearly. You may say, “A perfectly sensible person wouldn’t have considered this. He should’ve killed himself.” That kind of thinking doesn’t work because he’s not in that state of mind. You aren’t considering his past and his childhood or any of the influences that brought him to this point.

In no way am I justifying his actions or his character; they were clearly wrong. No one should ever take others’ lives nor their own. But let’s move away from calling him a “fucktard” or a “bastard.” Let’s forgive but not forget. Senselessly badmouthing him will do no good when the causes still exist, and it won’t help the victims either. My prayers are with both the victims and the murderer; hopefully he’ll realize what he has done and apologize to the family and friends of the dead and the surviving victims. It won’t bring them back to life, it won’t erase the painful memories, but it’s still something meaningful.

This post is tagged Akihabara, Japan, Kato Tomohiro, Murders, Suicide

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