■ The fate of crime ~ 25 years for the families of victims of the Kobe serial child murders ~ Narration: Daito Shunsuke Director: Shibatani Mariko Cinematography: Kudo Yuya Editing: Nogami Takashi Effects: Nakajima Yasunari Producer: Eguchi Shigeru KTV "The Document" Broadcast on May 20, 2022 ■ Awards Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association Awards Television News Program Excellence Award <The Document Official Page> https://www.ktv.jp/document/220520.html ------------------------------------------------ The Kobe serial child murders, in which 14-year-old "Boy A" was arrested for killing five elementary school students in Kobe City. This year marks 25 years since the incident that led to the revision of the juvenile law. For the father of the murdered child, Jun Haji, it was not just a matter of facing "crime," but also a daily struggle in every aspect. Jun's (then 11 years old) father, Mamoru Haji (66), looks back on the incident like this: "If the incident hadn't happened, I think we would probably have grown old together as a family, but I think the incident has caused a big change in the way we live our lives." At the time, there was no concept of "rights of crime victims," ​​and in juvenile cases, victims were completely left out of the loop. The abnormal situation of not being informed of anything even though they were bereaved families caused them double and triple suffering. In such a situation, Haji has spoken out against things he thought were "unreasonable." After the incident, much of his life has been spent on activities to obtain victims' rights and to seek revisions to the juvenile law. The perpetrator returned to society after seven years. From a certain point in time, he delivered a letter to the bereaved family every year. In response, Haji wrote his thoughts in a memoir, and that was the only communication between "former juvenile A" and Haji. The contents of the letters have become deeper every year. In 2015, he received a huge amount of letters, and Haji tried to receive his feelings of "atonement" directed only at the bereaved family. "I read it with no ill will, but with the intention of understanding it as well as possible." However, the following month, a confession book was published that shocked and infuriated Hajime. "Did he compress the letter after he wrote the book?" The family could not help but think so. This marked the end of the relationship between the family and Hajime. "We are also filled with a sense of betrayal," said lawyer Osamu Hashiba, who had been passing on Boy A's letter to the family. He has been representing Boy A's parents since the incident. Since his release from the hospital in 2005, he has played a nerve-wracking role, such as paying compensation to the victim, in an effort to repair the relationship between the parents and the child, who have not been able to meet even once. All of the support over the past 25 years has been free of charge. "Do they understand that so many people have been involved with him...?" he said, exuding a sense of futility. Anyone could become a victim tomorrow. They could be involved in juvenile crime. Hajime says that it is because of the pain he experienced that he continues to work today. Crime victims who have experienced hell in their lives have fought for their own lives, and many systems and laws have changed over the past 25 years. And there are also more and more younger generations who do not know about the Kobe child murders. While some things have changed and some remain the same, how has Haji's feelings about the juvenile law changed? "I want people to at the very least understand that the juvenile law is a law that is built on the further sacrifices of the victims' families." Even now, 25 years later, Haji repeats the same words he did back then. How will society take these words? #JuvenileCrime #KobeChildMurders #DaitoShunsuke