English teacher killed in Japan

by Robert Koehler on March 28, 2007

in Asides, East and Central Asia, Japan, Ministry of Barbarian Affairs

Another British woman has been murdered in Japan [Reuters], this time a 22-year-old English teacher.

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EFL Geek: ESL & EFL in Korea: March 28, 2007 at 11:13 pm

{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Newton Kabiddles March 29, 2007 at 2:34 am: the suspect looks very strange, wow what a freaky freak.
2 Uri Onara March 30, 2007 at 9:23 pm: Meanwhile, racist posters in droves on Japan’s 2channel internet forum are claiming that the suspected killer must therefore be a Zainichi Korean:
http://news22.2ch.net/test/rea.....174999439/
3 railwaycharm March 30, 2007 at 9:32 pm: I was in Japan this week. People seem more concerned about the quake than some Gaigins death.
4 wjk March 31, 2007 at 3:30 am: go check out uri onara’s link by translating from enjoyjapan.naver.com.

Like I said a long time ago, this isn’t one person with the same id saying 100 different things all by himself.

Japan’s message boards are kind of interesting.
5 H. Kim March 31, 2007 at 7:20 am: Meanwhile, racist posters in droves on Japan’s 2channel internet forum are claiming that the suspected killer must therefore be a Zainichi Korean:

Reminds me of what happened to the Zainichi after the “Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923″ in Tokyo and other cities throughout Japan when they were scapegoated and slaughtered by the Japanese in droves. (As if it was really their fault for starting an earthquake — got to hand it to those Japanese.) Koreans in Japan have historically been the Japanese’s most convenient scapegoats through the eons. Some things never go away…
6 globalvillageidiot March 31, 2007 at 8:54 am: “Japan’s message boards are kind of interesting.”

Indeed, but so are the ones here – even this one sometimes, in spite of the Marmot’s efforts to keep things civilized.

“Koreans in Japan have historically been the Japanese’s most convenient scapegoats through the eons. Some things never go away…”

True that the Zainichi were brutally and unfairly targeted in 1923 – and have been discriminated against in many ways since – but I’ve met a lot of Koreans who hate Japan so much they would probably blame the Japanese for the weather today!

The Internet brings out a lot of crazies in all countries – and I’m certainly not making a reference to anyone who has posted on this topic – and I wouldn’t be too quick to assume that the bulk of Japanese assume this girl’s killer must be a Zainichi Korean, or that it reflects the same sentiment that followed the quake in 1923.

A few skinhead attacks in Germany today do not mean Germany has regressed to 1939, does it? Though the Germans have accepted their historical wrongdoings better than the Japanese have, both societies have changed greatly – and for the better – since WWII. The rightest hardcore elements in Japan are a small minority of the population, and I suspect that at least some of the people posting on Japanese websites are social misfits who enjoy (get off on) using shock value to push peoples’ buttons from the safety of their PC. You see it in Korea too.

Anyway, as for the poor woman who was murdered, I hope the Japanese police catch this monster ASAP.
7 Sonagi March 31, 2007 at 9:12 am: I have seen a couple of Japanese message boards and the comments there reminded me of the Naver board reaction to the Rhie Won-bok story. There is speculation as to the woman’s relationship with her killer and accusations of racism against the British press for publicizing the murder of a British national by a Japanese in Japan.
8 tomojiro March 31, 2007 at 9:16 am: Ah,2 channel. That’s a kind of garbage of the internet world in Japan.
9 Uri Onara March 31, 2007 at 10:28 am: As for the police catching the suspect… they actually had him in custody at his apartment where her body was found, but with incredible incompetence, actually let him bolt out the door and get away!

As for 2channel, of course, since it is the world’s largest free-for-all forum that allows anonymous postings by anybody without moderation, it is no surprise that even closet bigots find a place to voice their HONNE and trollers regularly spread race baiting innuendo. Accusing Japanese criminals of being secretly Korean is a very common topic (which arguably tells us more about Japanese maintenance of myths about themselves than the suspects), not so subtly aimed at persuading the public that Koreans do not belong in Japan (much less naturalize as Japanese). But to be fair, in contrast, Korea completely blocks zainichi websites based in Japan when they are deemed pro-North. So much for freedom speech.
(As I write this right now a sound truck for the Japan Communist Party is blaring campaign speeches outside my apartment window).
10 globalvillageidiot March 31, 2007 at 11:34 am: “As for the police catching the suspect… they actually had him in custody at his apartment where her body was found, but with incredible incompetence, actually let him bolt out the door and get away!”

This – incompetent police – is one of those areas of common ground that Koran and Japan should focus on instead of bogging down on differences!
11 globalvillageidiot March 31, 2007 at 11:36 am: “This – incompetent police – is one of those areas of common ground that Koran and Japan should focus on instead of bogging down on differences!”

“Korea”, not “Koran”, if course. How did I manage that?
12 Newton Kabiddles March 31, 2007 at 12:47 pm: “As for the police catching the suspect… they actually had him in custody at his apartment where her body was found, but with incredible incompetence, actually let him bolt out the door and get away!”

The girl was reporting missing, they went to his home and asked if he would come to the station for questioning. He asked if he could first get his bag and then he bolted barefoot down a fire escape. Afterwards they found her body.