I can't really say much about this case other than it's one of the worst one's I've read to date. I actually cried while reading all that this poor girl endured. It broke my heart. Because of the nature of this case, I want to warn readers of a possible trigger. This case involves rape and torture so if that is a trigger for you, I suggest you skip this one.
Junko Furuta was born in Misato, Saitama Perfecture in Japan on January 18th, 1971. She had a very typical life and a loving family; she lived with her parents and her 2 brothers. As a teenager, she attended Yashio-Minami High School where she was very well known by her classmates and was even considered popular by many due to her good looks and charming personality. Unfortunately, not everyone in her class admired her. Some classmates were envious of Junko because of all of the attention she received while others simply disliked her for refusing drugs and alcohol.
Among her classmates, was a 'gangster-type' teen by the name of Hiroshi Miyano. Hiroshi was a known bully of their high school with Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) conections and although he wasn't close to Junko, he had developed a crush on her. When he asked her out, Junko rejected him stating that she was not looking for a relationship. This angered Hiroshi as he wasn't used to being rejected or being told "no" since many were afraid to defy him due his Yakuza connections.
On November 25th, 1988, Hiroshi and a friend named Nobuharu Minato decided to wander around their city in hopes of finding local women to rob and rape. Around 8:30pm, they spotted Junko on her bike who was on her way back home from her part-time job.
Hiroshi quickly devised a plan and ordered Nobuharu to kick Junko off her bicycle and then instructed him to immediately leave the scene. Hiroshi pretended to be an innocent bystander and then offered Junko help and promised to walk her home safely. Little did she know, she would be walking into the horrible beginning to the end of her life.
Hiroshi took Junko to a nearby warehouse where he revealed his Yakuza connections and then threatened to kill her as he raped her. From the warehouse he took her to a nearby hotel where he raped her once more and then called Nobuharu and two of his other friends, Jō Ogura and Yasushi Watanabe. While on the phone, he bragged about the rape and Jō reportedly asked Hiroshi if he could keep her so they could 'all have a turn'. Unsurprisingly, the group of boys had a history of gang rape and had previously kidnapped and raped another local girl but they let her go after the attack. Around 3am, Hiroshi took Junko to a local park where the rest of the boys were waiting. There, they threatened her and told her that if she tried to escape, the Yakuza would murder her entire family since they knew exactly where to find them from an address found in a notebook amongst her belongings. The boys easily overpowered her and quickly took her to a house in the Ayase district of Adachi where they gang-raped her. The home was actually owned by Nobuharu's parents and quickly became their regular gang hangout.
On November 27th, Junko's parents contacted the police, worried after not hearing from their daughter. When the boys heard about the police investigation, they forced Junko to call her mother and tell her that she had run away but that she was okay and staying with a friend. They then forced her to convince her mother to call off the police investigation. When Nobuharu's parents were around, Junko was forced to pose as one of the gang members girlfriend's but once it became clear that Nobuharu's parent's would not intervene and contact police, the guys dropped their act. The Minato's (Nobuharu's parents) later stated that they had decided not to intervene because they were well aware of Hiroshi's involvement with the Yakuza and that they were also scared of their own son due to how violent he had become. Nobuharu's brother had also been aware of the situation, but he too chose to ignore it for fear of being hurt.
Junko was held captive for a total of 44 days during which time, she endured heart-wrenching torture, abuse and was violently raped over 400 times. The guys would frequently invite other gang members to come and rape and torment Junko. In their court statements, it was discovered that she had endured torture far worse than anyone had ever imagined. She was beat, starved, hung from the ceiling, used as a punching bag and had the guys drop heavy weights onto her stomach. They also forced her to eat live insects, such as cockroaches and to drink her own urine. She was sexually tortured in many ways, often forced to masturbate in front of the men and had foreign objects inserted into her vagina and anus such as light bulbs and fireworks. They burned her vagina and clitoris with cigarettes and lighters and burned her eyelids with hot candle wax. As if the previous acts had not been enough, they also ripped out her left nipple using pliers and they pierced her breasts using sewing needles.
One of the men, who was allegedly forced into participating, went home and told his brother about the incident who then later told his parents and they contacted police. At this point, it had only been 16 days into her kidnapping and when police paid a visit to the home, they were told there was no girl at the residence and then declined an invitation to enter the home and investigate. The police believed that since the guys had been the ones to offer to let them enter, that was proof enough for them to know there was no cause for concern. Had the police done their jobs, it is very possible that Junko Furuta may have been rescued and would have recovered from the horrible torment she endured. Due to their mistake, both police officers were fired from the police force once it was all discovered.
What blows my mind is that this had not been the only time police were contacted. In early December, Junko called police but was discovered by Hiroshi before she had a chance to say anything. When the police called back, Nobuharu told them it was a mistake and police didn't think twice. As punishment, the boys doused her legs and feet with lighter fluid and set them on fire. They also sodomized her with a large bottle that caused severe bleeding. Due to the torture, Junko went into convulsions. The boys thought she was faking the seizure and proceeded to pour more lighter fluid on her and light her on fire once more. Miraculously, Junko survived these attacks, but unfortunately, her torture continued. On several occasions, Junko pleaded with her kidnappers to kill her and get it over with. Instead of having mercy, they made her sleep out in the balcony during the winter and also locked her up in a freezer. After weeks of torture, her legs and arms were so badly injured that it took her over an hour to go downstairs to use the bathroom. Eventually, she lost control of her bladder and bowels and would regularly soil the carpet which would result in a beating. She also was unable to keep food or water down and she was also beaten due to this.
Due to the savage attacks inflicted on her, Junko's appearance was drastically changed. Her face and body was severely swollen and because of several infections caused by wounds, her body began giving off a rotten smell which caused the guys to no longer be sexually attracted to her. To satisfy their sick desires, the boys kidnapped and gang-raped another 19yo girl who like Junko, was on her way home from work.
On January 4th, 1989 the boys challenged Junko to a game of Mahjong which she reportedly won. This made the boys angry and they decided to beat her to teach her a lesson. They kicked her, punched her and beat her with a barbell. They also placed two short candle sticks on her eyelids and burned her with the hot wax. They forced her to stand only to beat her with a swinging stick. She was beaten so badly and her body was so weak that she collapsed onto a stereo and began convulsing. She began bleeding profusely and pus began to emerge from her infected burns and wounds. In order to continue beating her, the boys made make-shift gloves out of plastic bags tying them at the wrists. They continued to torture her while she lay unconscious by dropping an exercise ball on her stomach several times and then proceeded to pour lighter fluid on her thighs, arms, face and stomach. This shocked Junko back into consciousness and she tried to put out the fire, but unfortunately became so weak in the process that she again, became unresponsive. After 2 hours of torture and 44 days of unspeakable pain, Junko succumbed to her wounds and died. Around 24hrs after her death, Nobuharu's brother called the boys to tell them that Junko appeared to have died. Being afraid of getting caught, they quickly devised a plan to dispose of her body. They wrapped her up in sheets and then placed her body into a duffel bag. Thinking that it wouldn't be enough, they then put her body in a drum and filled it with wet concrete. At around 8pm, they loaded her body and disposed of it in a cement truck in Kōtō, Tokyo.
On Jan, 23rd 1989, Hiroshi and Jō were arrested for the rape of the 19yo girl they kidnapped back in December. Then on March 29th, they were interrogated by police due to the fact that police had found women's underwear at their homes. During that same interrogation, police tricked Hiroshi into thinking that they knew of Junko's murder and thinking that Jō had confessed, Hiroshi disclosed the location of Junko's' body. At first, police were confused by the confesion as they had initially been referring to the murder of another woman and her 7yo son which had occurred 9 days before Junko's murder.
The following day, Junko's body was discovered by police. Jō Ogura, Yasushi Watanabe, Nobuharu Minato, and Minato's brother were arrested for sexual assault and murder.
Despite the severity of the crimes, the court chose to protect the identities of the boys since at the time, they were all considered to be juveniles. Luckily, a magazine discovered their identities and their names were published. The magazine stated that due to the nature of the crime, the boys did not deserve the privilege to remain anonymous. All the boys plead guilty, although they did not admit to murder, but rather "causing bodily harm that resulted in death." In 1990, Hiroshi (age 17) was sentenced to 17 years in prison. He appealed his sentence but it didn't work out in his favor as the judge added an additional 3 years. His 20 year sentence, is the highest sentence after life in prison. After the sentencing, it is reported that his family sent Junko's family 50 million yen (425,000 USD) after they sold heir home.
He tried to get parole in 2004, but due to an incident that occurred at the prison, he was denied. In 2013, Hiroshi returned to prison for fraud but due to insufficient evidence, he was released later that same month.
Nobuharu, was originally sentenced to 5-9 years, but he too, appealed his sentence and ended up with additional time added. Nobuharu's parents and brother were not charged but Junko's parents sued them for knowing about the torture and letting it happen under their roof. They won the civil suit. After Nobuharu's release, he moved in with his parents and it is reported that he has not found work since. Yasushi Watanabe, received a shorter sentence but was also given extra time. Not much is known about him other than the fact that he married a Romanian woman shortly after his release. As for Jō Ogura, he received 8 years for his role in the crime. After his release, he continued breaking the law and in 2004, he was arrested again for assaulting an acquaintance that he thought was getting involved with his then girlfriend. Jō threatened to kill him stating that he had killed before and knew how to get away with it. He was sentenced to 7 years and has since been released.
On April 2nd, 1989 Junko Furuta was laid to rest. During her memorial ceremony, one of her friends wrote a heart breaking note to Junko stating " Jun-chan, welcome back. I have never dreamed that we would see you again in this way. You must have been in so much pain ... so much suffering ... The happi we all made for the school festival looked really good on you. We will never forget you. I have heard that the headmaster has presented you with a graduation certificate. So we graduated together – all of us. Jun-chan, there is no more pain, no more suffering. Please rest in peace..." Junko's place of work also presented her parents with a uniform that she would have worn for a full-time job. She was buried with it.
Due to the notoriety of the crime, there have been several books and movies made about her tragic story, and even a song titled "44 days" referring to the total amount of days that Junko suffered. The place where her body was found has since been turned into a park.
Furuta Junko ( 古田 順子 ) January 18, 1970 - January 4, 1989.
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