April 28, 1961 - Futoshi Matsunaga
What distinguished Matsunaga was not merely the violence but the mechanism behind it — sustained psychological control over victims and their families that made them complicit in their own destruction. The Kitakyūshū case was considered so extreme that much of the Japanese press declined to cover it, a rare restraint that itself signals the nature of what was uncovered. Prosecutors described it as having no parallel in Japan's criminal history.
From Wikipedia
Futoshi Matsunaga (松永 太, Matsunaga Futoshi; born April 28, 1961) is a Japanese serial killer who both defrauded and tortured his victims in what is collectively known as the Kitakyūshū Serial Murder Incident (北九州連続殺人事件). Matsunaga was convicted of six counts of murder and one count of manslaughter between 1996 and 1998 and sentenced to death. He murdered his victims with an accomplice, Junko Ogata, who received a life sentence.
Due to the severity of Matsunaga's crimes, many Japanese media outlets chose not to report the details. The Japan Times reported that prosecutors said the case was without comparison in the criminal history of Japan. Several writers, including Ryūzō Saki, later published the details of the crimes.
- Last updated on .