News that a female employee was fatally stabbed by her former partner-turned-stalker at a Pokemon store in Tokyo sent shockwaves across the country. Revelations that the offender had previously been arrested for stalking begged the question: Why could the murder not have been prevented if he had already been caught for stalking the same victim?

This remains only the latest in a string of stalking-turned-murder incidents that have continued to plague Japan, and such cases cannot be stopped unless more prevention measures and help are channeled toward the offenders, experts say. 

On March 26, 21-year-old Moe Harukawa was stabbed to death at the crowded Ikebukuro store by 26-year-old Taiki Hirokawa, who then took his own life. The two had been in a relationship that ended in July 2025.

Hirokawa had been previously arrested on suspicion of violating the antistalking law in December of last year, when Harukawa had filed a police report against him and was found lurking near her home with a fruit knife, and secretly filmed footage of her was found in his possession. 

A common factor found among stalking incidents that escalate to murder is that the perpetrator has an extreme and obsessive attachment toward the victim, which often roots from a complex upbringing where they had been unable to receive the affection they needed, according to Ryoichi Hiroi, a psychology professor at Ritsumeikan University.

“‘Japanese-style stalking’ is characterized by a significantly stronger degree of attachment and dependency compared to stalking observed in other countries,” said Hiroi, referring to the term he coined to describe a style of stalking that is unique to Japan. 

Given that, in stalking incidents, most offenders are released after a relatively short period despite being arrested or prosecuted and imprisoned, extreme stalkers continue their behavior.

“And so, prevention cannot be achieved merely by strengthening conventional clinical or legal responses — what is required is a shift in thinking, such as the idea of ‘helping’ the stalking perpetrators,” he added. “We tend to focus only on condemning perpetrators — calling for harsher punishments and their exclusion from society — but this may, in fact, be contributing to the rise in frequency and severity of stalking incidents.”

Kayomi Kurihara, the director of STEP, a nonprofit organization that runs a rehabilitation program for alleged and convicted stalkers and abusers, echoes this point, saying that as the current system stands, perpetrators are essentially left unchecked after their arrest and release. 

Kurihara had founded the organization in 2001 to run a shelter for domestic violence and stalking victims but turned its focus to rehabilitation programs 15 years ago when she realized that stalking and abuse incidents couldn’t be eradicated unless the perpetrators changed.

Before the Ikebukuro incident, police recommended Hirokawa receive counseling following his arrest, but he had declined. 

“The police say they always recommend counseling to perpetrators, but since it’s on a voluntary basis, only about 5% actually end up going,” said Kurihara. “Through coordination with the police, requirements for offenders to participate in these programs should be put in place.”

Patients who have entered STEP’s program have been able to come to terms with their unhealthy attachment and stalking behavior, a process that starts from something as simple as realizing that they are the perpetrator, Kurihara said. 

“Once they come to recognize their own capacity for harm, they’re able to stop — that’s why the people who come to us all end up quitting their stalking behavior and, consequently, are able to prevent more serious incidents,” she said. “It’s something that can’t be changed through willpower or sheer determination alone — that’s why rehabilitation programs should be used to make a difference.”