Japan’s Most Notorious Murder Case Resurfaces Amid “Man Vs Bear” Debate On Social Media

Recently, a question on social media has sparked numerous debates despite its initial ridiculous first impression — man vs bear. The question is directed towards women, questioning if they would rather be alone in a forest with a man or a bear.

Women and non-men have overwhelmingly chosen bear and, when met with opposition, used past crimes against women by men to explain their decision.

"there's nothing worse then being eaten by a bear so women are just stupid" four cases from the top of my head (in the sea of thousand similar ones) beg to differ (also since you males love gore so much you should know many terrible shit) https://t.co/TOTPbm6kQf pic.twitter.com/68s4ZcjhGs

— robin ⚢ (@batclowner) May 1, 2024

One such crime mentioned is the Junko Furuta case, which has remained one of the most notorious since it occurred in the late 80s.

Junko Furuta

Junko Furuta was a 17-year-old student living in Saitama, Japan when she was first targeted by ringleader Hiroshi Miyano. Intially, Miyano and Nobuharu Minato, planned an attack on Furuta, resulting in Miyano sexually assaulting her after gaining her trust.

After calling and bragging to his friends, Yasushi Watanabe and Jo Ogura (Jo Kamisaku), the four decided to kidnap Furuta, holding her captive in Minato’s house where they forced her to pretend to be his girlfriend.

During her 44 days in captivity, Furuta was gang raped repeatedly as the four boys invited others over to assault her. They also tortured Furuta in numerous ways including leaving her outside with little clothing, beating and burning her, and keeping her severely malnourished.

The night she was murdered, Miyano set Furuta on fire, and after putting her out, proceeded to beat and torture her for around two hours. She succumbed to her wounds following this attack.

The home where Furuta was kept.

Fearing being charged with murder, the group then wrapped her body in blankets, placing her in a travel bag inside of a 55-gallon drum, which was then filled with concrete.

Around two weeks later, Miyano and Ogura were arrested for another gang rape and kidnapping, where they were questioned about other crimes. Thinking Ogura had confessed, Miyano sold police where to find Furuta’s body.

Furuta’s funeral

The four involved and several of the men who participated in assaulted were charged for their crimes after making confessions. One of the lasting details of this case that still horrifies many to this day is the short terms the four main conspirators received.

Miyano ultimately was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while the others received 5 to 9 years in prison or juvenile detention.

Furuta was popular among her classmates and had idol hopes.

All four were released, and following some short prison terms for re-offending and name changes, have gone on to lead normal lives. Nobuharu Minato reportedly is active on X, replying to tweets about the crimes and defending his actions.

With the severity of this case, it is apparent why it has been used in recent conversations.