Police in Saitama City said Sunday they have arrested a 28-year-old unemployed man on suspicion of killing his 60-year-old father at their home.
According to police, Naotsugu Mikami stabbed his father at around 4 p.m. Saturday. Kyodo News reported that Mikami then went to a nearby koban (police box) and told officers he had stabbed his father with the intention of killing him.
Police rushed to the scene and found the victim bleeding from a knife wound to the stomach. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Mikami lived in the house with his parents. His mother was out for the day.
Police said that at around midday on Saturday, Mikami had come to the koban and told the officers that he was troubled and wanted to die. The police called his home and his father came and got him.
© Japan Today
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justasking
This 28-year-old man, unemployed man turns himself in and says he is suicidal, instead of getting medical attention for him they turn him over to his 60-year-old father. With all the murders of parents by such individuals like this man what were the police thinking?
Ken Holcomb
I normally refrain from criticism of the police in most situations. It's a tough job and those that have never had any direct experience with the crap cops have to put up with should probably not be so quick to degrade them.
Although I would add that cops are not trained psychologists and have neither the training nor the time to sit down with every nutcase that walks in their koban to council and analyze them.
What they should have though, is the resources at hand immediately to contact and bring in someone trained to analyze a person who is apparently suicidal/dangerous.
This is also a problem in my home country where cops are more likely to pull their weapons before pulling out a contact card.
Seigi
There will be more cases like this because of police neglect and ignorance. Most of the family crimes here are results of it, although they can also be attributed to declining family values.
Michael Machida
Having read this, many people in Japan are experiencing deep sadness, evoking a profound sense of sorrow and heaviness.
It is disheartening to read about this kind of situation almost on a weekly basis, that causes people a feeling of loss.
The loss of someone can cause people to feel this situation in Saitama is overwhelming.
smithinjapan
That's at least two family murders today alone!
kaimycahl
The police are not psychologist but a reasonable person would have been able to call in a specialist to get the guy some help especially if the guy self reported saying he wanted to die. Instead they called his father who ended up getting killed. That reminds me when you see two individual fighting and one has a knife trying to kill the other person, the best thing to do is not interfere because the person who is trying to intervene is the one who usually gets stabbed. My only guess would be is the father tried to stop the son from killing himself and the son perhaps turned the anger on the dad from trying to take himself out. The best thing to do is get help as soon as possible.
Police said that at around midday on Saturday, Mikami had come to the koban and told the officers that he was troubled and wanted to die. The police called his home and his father came and got him.