It is always difficult to determine why anyone would develop an urge to kill. However, the behavior and the background of the suspects in two murders in late March indicates that along with other cautionary measures, better social and familial help might have prevented the tragedies.
On March 23, a 24-year-old man from Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture, went on a stabbing rampage in and around the city's JR Arakawaoki Station, killing one person and injuring seven others. The day before, police had received a cell-phone call from the man, who identified himself as a suspect in the March 19 fatal stabbing of a 72-year-old man in Tsuchiura.
The investigation revealed that the man's initial target was his younger sister, but when he couldn't find her he began stabbing people at random. He is quoted as saying, "It didn't matter who they were." He is also reported to have had little social interaction with his family, who, although living in the same place, did not even eat their meals together. It was only after the stabbings that the man's mother found the word "Death" and the letter "Z" written in red on the wall of his room. Had family ties been stronger, the man might have been able to receive the psychological help that he clearly needed.