Sunday, February 26, 2006

Email!
Below is that email I've been talking about. Check it out!



June 04, 2004

Tokyo, Japan



An 11 year old girl (6th grade for you morons who can't count) murdered her fellow classmate. She lead the girl--Satomi Mitarai, 12,--to an empty classroom during their lunch period, slit her throat and slashed her arms with a box-cutter--then left the girl to die.

A teacher found the girl's body and knew who commited the crime when "Girl A" returned to the classroom with bloodied clothes. The Teacher immediately contacted the authorities.

The grisly crimes sent shockwaves through the little southern Japanese community (Sasebo). Leaving many questions about how such a tragedy could occur.

Mitarai died of massive blood loss at scene.

When Kyoji Mitarai (Satomi's Father) arrived at the scene "I can't put in words what I'm feeling right now. I can't understand it at all. I don't have a clue," he said.

He said his daughter never spoke of disagreements with her classmates and appeared to get along well with them.

Police said "Girl A" soon confessed to the murder after being taken into custody and said, sobbing, "I have done a bad thing".

Authorities said they have not found a motive.

Satomi's father said he would continue to seek an explanation. "I don't know what went on between the two, She is the same grade in school as my daughter, so I don't know how much she understands," he said. "But when things settle down, I would like for her to explain what happened."

Internet blamed for Japan school killing

Japanese media have turned to the Internet as a culprit in the shocking killing of a 12-year-old girl by her classmate this week, as trouble over messages posted on a Web site emerged as a possible motive.



The 11-year-old girl who killed Satomi Mitarai by slashing her throat at their primary school in southern Japan on Tuesday told police she killed her friend because she was angry about a message posted on a Web site, newspapers said.



Media reports on Thursday said both girls had their own Web sites and took part in online chat rooms, the use of which is proliferating in Japan even among primary school students.



The Internet has already become a part of life for Japanese children. Almost all public schools have access to the Web and government data shows that over 60 percent of children aged between six and 12 use the Internet.



Experts say communicating via the Internet can stimulate emotional reactions and warn that users should take extra care not needed in face-to-face conversations.



"When you talk with your friends in the classroom, you look at their faces. So you can tell if they're serious or joking, or angry or laughing, from their expressions or tone of voice," the Internet Association Japan, a non-profit organization, says in its "Rules and Manners for Children using the Internet."



"But with the Internet, you can\'t hear your friends' voices or see their faces... What you wrote as a joke can make your friend angry."



Media said the 11-year-old had told investigators she asked Mitarai not to write messages about her appearance on an Internet bulletin board, but that her friend had refused to stop.



High-tech scapegoat?

Mitarai died from loss of blood after her classmate slashed her throat with a knife during the lunch break on Tuesday at their school in Sasebo, 610 miles southwest of Tokyo.



"I tried to blindfold her with a towel, but she refused, so I covered her eyes with my hand," Kyodo news agency quoted the girl as telling investigators.



Some experts, however, said the Internet was being wrongly blamed for what is the latest in a series of high-profile juvenile crimes that have shocked Japan and forced it to search for answers.



"It is true that the Internet can be a factor in increasing emotional reactions, but the more basic problem is that of an inability to communicate skilfully with another human being," said Tatsuo Inamasu, a professor at Tokyo's Hosei University.



"The reports say that the trigger was a comment on the Internet, but there must have been a lot that went before."



Inamasu, who specializes in media studies, also said many parents and teachers put the blame on computers as they do not understand well how to use them.



"I don't think we can blame computers for causing a murder."



The 11-year-old will appear before a family court, which could send her to a special reformatory. Children under 14 cannot be prosecuted in Japan.





Copyright 2004 Reuters Limited.

Warning: The following sites may shock and disturb you.

These sites are frequently where the girl hung out.

http://www.geocities.co.jp/SiliconValley/4358/red_room1.swf

http://nun.nu/?www.nurs.or.jp/~gatoo777/souko_gif/akai.html



Basically the story as the red_room flash is as follows. Two friends at school are talking, and one mentions a story about a website that pops up which asks \"Anata ha suki desu ka?"\ (Do you like me?) and then if you don�ft reply, you die. The friend, upon hearing it, decided to see if it site really existed. So when he got home, he looked it up on the internet, didn't believe it, and then went on to visit his own favourite sites... When the message suddenly pops up. He tries to call his friend, but there was no answer...

After he clicks it the first few times, it refuses to go away; however, it then starts auto clicking itself. Each time, revealing a new part of the message. \"Anata ha akai heya ga suki desu ka?"\ (Do you like the red room?). Then a website with all the names of the people killed shows up, both his friend, and his name, are at the bottom. Then, he is killed.



"Anata ha akai heya ga suki desu ka?"

Do you like the Red Room?



Send this email to everyone on your friends list, or. . . you'll be next.