Netizens Sympathize With Japanese Bureaucrat Who Stabbed His Son To Death

The story of an ex-top bureaucrat in Japan stabbing his own son to death has resurfaced online in South Korea, drawing unexpected reactions from netizens.

Hideaki Kumazawa, a former vice minister of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, was arrested in 2019 for fatally stabbing his own 44-year-old son, Eiichiro. Kumazawa allegedly stabbed his son more than 30 times in the neck and chest at his home in Tokyo. He died from blood loss.

Hideaki Kumazawa

Kumazawa called the police and admitted to the killing immediately. During questioning, he revealed that Eiichiro had a developmental disorder and was routinely violent toward his mother. He lived the life of a Hikikomori or a socially recluse person. In his statement to the police, Kumazawa said that he killed his son because he was “terrified” that Eiichiro would harm the children who were making noise at an elementary school near their house.

Kumazawa’s son, Eiichiro | theqoo

Kumazawa’s fear allegedly sprouted from a stabbing rampage that happened in May that year in Kawasaki. In that incident, a recluse stabbed two people, including an 11-year-old schoolgirl, to death and injured 17 people before killing himself. Kumazawa told the police that he feared his son was about to go on a rampage, and so he grabbed a knife and stabbed him in the chest and neck. Then, he called the police.

Hideaki Kumazawa

Kumazawa was sentenced to six years in prison and even lost the appeal in 2021. The story created a heated discussion around mental health and the growing Hikikomori lifestyle in Japan. But now that it has resurfaced on Korean forums, netizens expressed their sympathies almost exclusively for Kumazawa.

A user on the popular blogging site, Theqoo, compiled some more news reports from the past that stated Eiichiro’s actions caused harm to the rest of his family for a long time. Kumazawa was forced to work as a salesman to support him. Kumazawa’s daughter allegedly committed suicide after her marriage was scrapped due to Eiichiro’s bad reputation.

| theqoo

Netizens commented that Kumazawa’s actions were justified and extended their sympathies toward the rest of his family.

| theqoo

• “He probably held out for a long time but couldn’t anymore after what happened to his daughter.”
• “If my son was like that…to be honest, even if I couldn’t kill him, I would’ve reported him to the police. Is a person who says he will kill elementary school kids sane?”
• “TT His daughter died already. I wonder how hard it was for him to kill his only remaining son…Still, I don’t feel sad for the son at all.”
• “He is not guilty though?”

| theqoo

• “An entire family got destroyed TT…sigh.”
• “It’s unfortunate for the father. A guy like that deserved to die.”
• “He seems like a sane person. I wonder how devastating it must have been for him to kill his son with his own hands.”
• “TT TT.”
• “Shouldn’t he be considered not guilty?”
• “TT Oh my god. How the father must be feeling…”