The reporting of the Japanese stabbings has apparently fallen off of the radar screens of the anti-gun news media. If a firearm had been used, we would still being hearing about it today.
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LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/wires/20010612/tCB00V7339.html
Tuesday, June 12, 2001
Japan Seeks Tighter School Security
Associated Press Writer
TOKYO--Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his Cabinet agreed
Tuesday on the need for tighter security at the nation's schools following
the fatal stabbing of eight children last week.
But the government appeared to be divided over calls for stricter
controls over the criminally insane.
The attack last Friday at an elementary school in the suburbs of
Osaka, Japan's second-largest city, was the worst mass-killing in Japan in
years and has generated widespread anger and shock.
The accused killer, Mamoru Takuma, is a 37 -year-old former janitor
with a history of mental illness. Police have quoted him as saying that he
deliberately chose to kill children because he wanted to be put to death
for the crime.
Takuma was expected to be charged with murder and attempted murder.
Shortly after the attack, police noted that Takuma had a history of
violence, included the attempted poisoning of four teachers at another
school, and Koizumi suggested he wanted a review of Japan's laws regarding
the treatment of suspects deemed mentally ill.
In a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, Koizumi reiterated his desire for
increased security at schools. But officials indicated a revision of the
law to provide greater controls over the mentally ill was not likely.
"This is an issue we must consider seriously," said Justice Minister
Mayumi Moriyama. "We must consider specific ways to effectively carry out
our current laws."
The Education Ministry, meanwhile, has instructed all elementary,
middle and high schools to re-evaluate campus security. Many have begun
closing their gates during the day.
The school where the attack occurred, in a residential suburb, will
be closed until Wednesday.
On Monday morning, officials and teachers reconstructed the attack
for investigators. A mental support team, with 55 experts from 10
organizations, has been set up.
Along with the eight children killed, 13 children and two teachers
were wounded.
Copyright 2001 Los Angeles Times