The murder this month of two junior high school students from Osaka Prefecture who loitered around a train station until the morning of the day they disappeared, has highlighted the problem of street children and prompted locals to enhance measures to protect them.
On Aug. 12, junior high-school student Ryoto Hoshino, 12, left his home in Neyagawa at around 9 p.m. to play outdoors with 13-year-old schoolmate Natsumi Hirata.
They were last seen alive at around 5 a.m. on Aug. 13 on security camera footage that captured them walking back and forth along a shopping street near Neyagawashi Station. They are believed have been killed soon after.