Junko Furuta’s murder case is the gruesome and horrifying life story of a Japanese high school student, Junko Furuta.
She was captured, tortured, raped, and finally killed after 44 days of suffering. Her case is known as, “the concrete-encased high school girl murder case”. The crime was mainly committed by four teenagers, Hiroshi Miyano, Shinji Minato, Jo Kamisaku, and Yasushi Watanabe.
Junko was a charming and popular student in her school. She was noticed and asked out by the school bully, Miyano. But she politely refused. On a November evening, Miyano found Junko riding a bicycle to her house after her part-time job. On Miyano’s order, Minato bullies her so that Miyano could act as her savior and walk her home. Little did Junko know that she was walking into hell along with a devil. That was the first day of her endless sufferings. She was raped on that night by Minato, Miyano, Ogura, and Watanabe.
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Junko Furuta Capture and Blackmail
She was threatened to silence by blackmailing with the lives of her parents. Miyano and Kamisaku were associated with yakuza, an organization of crime syndicates. Hence, Junko was forced to lie to her parents that she ran away, to avoid police involvement. Then she was taken to a house owned by Minato’s parents. There she endured 44 days of unimaginable pain till the moment of her death. The tortures were physical, sexual, and emotional. She was raped more than 400 times by the captors but it’s also reported that other yakuza men could’ve been involved too.
Endless Torture of Junko Furuta lasting 44 days
She was abused by being anally raped with a bottle and fireworks, inserted a lit bulb into her genital, and forced masturbation. She was repeatedly beaten, tortured by various measures. Her legs and arms were burned multiple times with lighter fluid. They inserted miscellaneous items into her genitals; that included bottles, hot metal rod, scissors, grilled chicken skewers, and lit match.
They brutally and consistently abused her without mercy. They attacked her by hanging her as a punching bag, which damaged her internal organs poorly. They forced her to eat cockroaches, burned them with wax and cigarette, also made to dance naked in front of them, and she had to drink her urine. She was starved and her body was damaged to an extreme.
Among the other cruelties, they ruthlessly broke her nails by placing heavyweights, ripped off one of her nipples with a plier, her stomach crushed with dumbell and her face crashed against the floor. She became malnourished and completely helpless as she had gone through hell itself. She made a failed attempt to call the police once and this enraged the captors. She was ‘punished’ by further abusive treatments. They burned her eyes, arm with wax and lighter. Her arms and legs were again set on fire.
She endured intense pain and inhumane tortures. The parents of Miyano became aware of the situation of Junko’s terrible state but they kept silent in fear of their son and the gang he’s affiliated with. When one of the boys felt guilty and informed his parents, they called the police. But the police didn’t thoroughly search Minato’s house since they readily invited them in.
Her body became severely disfigured. Blood and pus leaked from her injuries. She started to reek and the boys were repulsed by this. So they found another 19-year-old girl and raped her. Junko had to suffer more beatings henceforth. In January 1989, Miyano was angry about losing a game of mahjong. They took it out on Junko by consistently beating her and then burning her with lighter fluid. Two candles were placed on her eyelids and even as she became unresponsive they didn’t stop with their beatings. After this intensive torture, Junko had seizures. Reportedly this lasted for two hours and she had collapsed.
The Unjust Justice
Junko died on that night and she was put in a drum filled with cement. Her body wasn’t found until Miyano and Kamisaku were captured to be investigated for another gang rape case. Miyano was the alleged leader of this crime and so he served the highest 20-year sentence. The remaining three boys served less than 8 years.
People felt that the sentences were too lenient for such a heinous crime. Her life and death moved millions to tears and till this day people rage for the injustice done to her.
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