In a nation where young children are commonly encouraged to walk to school on their own, the recent shocking murder of a girl in Kobe raises questions over whether people in Japan are too trusting and should supervise schoolchildren more closely.

The dismembered body of 6-year-old Mirei Ikuta was found Sept. 23 in plastic bags near where she lived, and nearby resident Yasuhiro Kimino, 47, is in custody on suspicion of abandoning her body. Police have also reported identifying her bloodstains at the man's home.

The slaying is the latest in a series of child kidnappings and attacks on schoolchildren while they were unaccompanied by adults.