VOX POPULI: Blaming society does not explain senseless act

A recent issue of the weekly Shukan Asahi magazine quoted Moichi Tanabe (1905-1981), the founder of major bookstore chain Kinokuniya Co. and a respected man of culture, as saying, "Sure, life would be so much easier if you could blame everything on the times."

One could just as well say "other people" or "society" instead of "the times."

Tomohiro Kato, 27, went on a rampage in Tokyo's Akihabara district in June 2008, killing seven people and injuring 10 others.

The case strikes me as a perfect example of an immature individual conditioned to blame anyone but himself for anything that goes wrong in his life, taking his frustration out on innocent bystanders with lethal violence.

On the first day of his trial, Kato reportedly turned to the gallery where some of his victims' bereaved families were seated, and bowed deeply. He acknowledged his guilt and apologized, and promised to atone for his crime by explaining what had driven him to it.

But if he is going to keep making excuses by blaming the times and other people during the trial, I see no point in it.

Every crime comes with its own set of circumstances. The Akihabara case is often discussed as a "symbol" of the sense of stagnation that is said to pervade society today.

But what the grieving families of the victims want to know must be Kato's thoughts and actions that led up to the rampage--elements that will enable them to see beyond any objective analysis of the crime and put the violent deaths of their loved ones in context. Without this, no word of apology from Kato will ever mean anything to the bereaved families.

According to the National Police Agency, the number of murders last year was the lowest since the end of World War II. Ironically, one reason suggested by the agency is that human relations must have grown more distant or detached in this age of the Internet. The detachment makes people less prone to turn their aggression on any particular individual.

Perhaps this explains the recent increase in indiscriminate assaults on total strangers--cases in which the perpetrators invariably say, "It didn't matter whom I killed."

Kato blamed society for his woes and found his escape in cyberspace, where he remained a loner.

Understanding what made him cross the "threshold" should enable us to gain insight that will help stop others from crossing it. The least we can do to console the souls of the victims is to make sure there will never be "another Kato."

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 29

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.