Junko Furuta, then 17 years old and attending high school in Saitama, was kidnapped by four juvenile delinquents and brought back to their house in Tokyo’s Adachi neighborhood for 44 days of torture and murder.
All four of her tormentors were given light sentences under Japan’s Juvenile Law, even after engaging in horrendous crimes that resulted in no prison term longer than 10 years for any of them.
Her background
Junko Furuta was 17 when she was abducted and murdered by four teenage boys from Misato in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
She was an ideal student who took education seriously while working hard at her part-time job to save for a graduation trip. She did not smoke, drink alcohol or use drugs and as such was widely respected among her classmates.
Hiroshi Miyano was deeply infatuated with her but when she declined his advances it enraged him immensely.
Once he recovered from this trauma, he started planning his revenge against her and recruited his friends Jo Ogura, Shinji Minato and Yasushi Watanabe to assist in this plan.
Her kidnapping
Junko Furuta was an impressive 17-year-old student and friend. She held down a part-time job to keep out of trouble while keeping her family informed of her academic progress.
On November 25, 1988, she was abducted by four teenage boys connected with Hiroshi Miyano of Yakuza ties. They took her back to his home where he held her captive until they could bring her back out again.
Furuta was held captive for 44 days during which time she was subject to repeated raped, sodomized, and torture from her captors, including items such as fireworks, scissors and iron bars inserted directly into her vagina.
Her captors set her on fire and burned her alive because it was within their power and because it made them happy to do it. Their horrifying actions are absolutely appalling; there was nothing sweet or graceful about what occurred during her murder or those responsible.
Her torture
Junko Furuta was an intelligent and beautiful 17-year-old from Misato in Saitama Prefecture. She enjoyed an excellent relationship with both of her parents as well as two brothers. Additionally, Junko enjoyed being part of Yashio-Minami High School where she excelled academically; furthermore she never smoked or used drugs.
As she thought she was safe from harm, however, a group of gangsters abducted and murdered her on January 4, 1989. For 44 days that they held her captive they beat, raped, and tortured her until finally killing her on March 20, 1989.
During her incarceration, they used hot wax on her eyelids, sewed needles into her breasts and used pliers to tear off one of her nipples with great force. Furthermore, iron barbells were dropped on her torso which caused internal injuries so severe she lost bladder and bowel control.
She was so badly beaten and injured that it took her more than an hour to drag herself down to the bathroom, forcing her to sleep on an inhospitable balcony in freezing temperatures for 30 days, until her organs had become irreparably damaged.
Her death
One of Japan’s most heartbreaking cases ever witnessed was that of Junko Furuta’s murder by four high school boys; Hiroshi Miyano, Nobuharu Minato, Kamisaku Jo and Yasushi Watanabe were responsible.
During her 44 days in captivity, she suffered over 500 se*ual assaults by 100 different men; at one point being subjected to 12 different molestations attempts per day.
The brutal boys beat and raped her, then burned her with lighter fuel. Additionally, they urinated on her while hanging her from the ceiling for use as their punching bag.
Her hands were broken, forcing her to sleep outside in subfreezing temperatures, where she had difficulty urinating properly for 30 days while internal organs were destroyed.
Her torture and murder sent shockwaves through the international community and raised awareness about Japanese girl abusers. Her story serves as a powerful reminder that it’s never too late to call the police.
