There are groups being formed on the social networking site Mixi.jp and other places in support of Tatsuya Ichihashi, accused murderer of Lindsay Hawker. The one description for the one on Mixi says that they believe he is innocent, and love him because he’s so good looking.
Some fans have even put their pictures on the net showing support.
As someone on the bulletin board that featured these pictures duly noted, if they really think he is innocent, why are they covering their faces?
Also note the caption in the second picture identifying the young mother in the picture as “Tatsuya Ichihashi’s Wife”.
Another commenter noted, “You have to feel bad for the baby being raised by that woman.”
I can only assume that these girls don’t remember some of the more gruesome details of the case and hope that as misguided as they are, they will at least reconsider once they hear how heinous the crime was.
I know that this is a common thing, people falling for high-profile criminals. The point of me bringing it up on newzjapan is that it happens in Japan as well.
Scary, although the hiding the face thing isn’t so much a surprise. On Mixi, that happens quite a lot with people and their photos – they seem to like to hide their identity.
True, true… Either people are hiding their identities or there are thousands of girls in Japan who look exactly like Mariah Carey and thousands of guys who either look like Johnny Depp or one of the characters from Slam Dunk.
I dought they would feel the same way about him if he was about to do the same to them as he did to Lindsay Hawker.
I agree, Victoria. Actually, I wonder if they even really know what happened at all. They probably didn’t read the news back when the crime was originally committed, and there hasn’t been a lot about the horrid details of the crime in the news recently so I wonder if they even know what he’s really being accused of having done.
It has gone very quiet since his arrest and no charges brought to him yet. Have you heard anything from the Japanese feeds, Jay?
Hey Dave, the latest news was that he had claimed he was going on a hunger strike because a police officer had said something to the effect of “I’m shocked you can eat like that after what you’ve done”. The hunger strike (not surprisingly) did not last long. The news soon after reported that he ate heartily and was healthy.
The charges against him are “gokanchishishozai” (rape or attempted rape resulting in murder). The implication seems to be that the rape is premeditated but the murder is not. I believe he will be eligible for the death penalty.
I know you were probably worried that they would only go for the “illegal disposal of a body” charge (like the charges against the Japanese man who killed his mail order bride from the Philippines and had a piece of her body in his pocket when arrested but was never charged for her murder… only illegal disposal… he finally was put away when he was arrested for murdering and cannibalizing a woman from the Philippines working as a bar hostess).
It looks like murder is a part of the charges against him so there must be some evidence against him for that in addition to just having the body on his balcony.
Defendant Ichihashi becomes a popular person as “a handsome man” on the Japanese bulletin board.
It is supposed that I “love Ichihashi” a note insulting the woman whom I write it, and is crowded and late Lindsay and the bereaved a lot.
I am very sad as the same human.
Because “he is a handsome man, I forgive rape and violence, imprisonment”.
I am pretty that there is a feeling of the apology for Lindsay.
Lindsay should have sent goodwill to Ichihashi.
Prostitution was performed in the English conversation school where Lindsay worked. She should have sold herself, too.
The bereaved of Lindsay receive 100,000,000 yen from a parent of Ichihashi.
http://hideyoshi.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/ms/1261890056/
http://namidame.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/wmotenai/1261748183/
http://hideyoshi.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/ms/1261878874/
Japanese are the most stupidest and cruel creatures in the planet Earth. Why are they becoming dumb and idiot like red-necked Americans?
I don’t really know how to respond James. I think there are a lot of great people in Japan, and a lot of great people who have sun-tanned necks from working hard outside.
One of the reasons for this blog is to open up both the good and the bad you see in Japan. It was a reaction to some of the stories in mainstream American media like CNN that portray Japan as this Shangri-la full of weirdness and depravity… you can see the contradiction.
Living in Japan as long as I have has taught me that at the person to person level, people everywhere are just the same, and there’s cruelty, stupidity, beauty, and altruism wherever you go.