A memorial service was held Sunday to mark the 25th anniversary of a stabbing rampage at an elementary school in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, that left eight children dead.
A memorial service was held at Ikeda Elementary School in the morning, with bereaved families, current students, and faculty members praying for the souls of the victims at the time of the incident. The eight bells in a small monument, on which the names of the eight children who died are engraved, were rung, and everyone observed a moment of silence.
The eight — seven girls in second grade and a boy in first grade — were fatally stabbed, while 15 others, including two teachers, were injured on June 8, 2001, by Mamoru Takuma. He was sentenced to death in 2003 and executed in September 2004. At his trial, he said that he committed the crime because he wanted to be executed.
Takuma entered through the school’s side gate, which had been left open. The incident shook the school’s “myth of safety,” prompting the strengthening of safety measures such as closing the school gates, installing security cameras, and patrolling during school hours.
© Japan Today
