Police investigated reports last Sunday after the alleged assailant's parents noticed she had not contacted them. According to a report in the
Japan Times investigators found the body of Matsuo badly beaten, strangled and missing her head as well as left hand. While the suspect visited her family regularly, this all happened in an apartment she lived alone in.
Reporting of the story has also had some unexpected twists as most outlets are receiving the information second-hand so the age of the suspect has fluctuated between
15 and
16. From what we have been able to gather from Japanese news it seems both girls were 15 years old.
Matsuo was reportedly friends with the alleged assailant. She had come over to hang out. Another friend interviewed by the times mentioned that the suspect
showed signs of being emotionally unstable and often started crying when she had an argument with someone,
and others say that the girl
was very smart, with emotional ups and downs.
Japan has made the news many times for having a very high
suicide rate among students. One student also attempted
to stab his teacher this year. Other incidents such as the rape and murder of
Lindsay Hawker stand out in the nation's history.
Many
media commentators blame incidents such as this on the
high stress level that the Japanese school
system produces.
Some believe
cultural and
historical trends could be at the root of these problems. Educational focus
changed the country as a whole but educators now seek to reform their system. According to those involved in
the system they want to still improve results but also give students more freedom to lower stress levels.
