006 Life Lost, Many Lives Touched: How the 2002 Mishima Incident Sparked National Reflection on Crime, Safety, and Human Dignity in Japan - Japanese True Crime

The Mishima Women's Junior College Student Burning Murder Case occurred in January 2002 in Mishima City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. A 29-year-old man, identified as H, abducted a 19-year-old female junior college student, referred to as A, while she was returning home. He took her to a secluded area where he sexually assaulted her. Subsequently, under the pretext that she was hindering his use of stimulants, he decided to kill her. In the early hours of January 23, H poured kerosene over A and set her on fire while she was still alive, resulting in her death.

This case was notable because, following the "Nagayama Standard" established by the Supreme Court in 1983, it was rare for a defendant without prior convictions for murder to receive the death penalty for a single-victim homicide that was not economically motivated. Nonetheless, H was sentenced to death, and the sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. He was executed on August 3, 2012, at the Tokyo Detention House.

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