A mother beheaded by her son. A baby who suffocated after being stuffed by his parents in the baggage compartment of a motorbike while they played pachinko. A murderous shooting spree during a hostage standoff.
An outbreak of violent crime in the past week has triggered soul-searching and outrage in a country that has long prided itself on its safe streets and tight communal bonds.
The "appalling destruction" of traditional values — as one lawmaker put it — climaxed Friday, when a former gangster killed a police officer and wounded his son and daughter during a shooting rampage at his Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture, home where he had held his ex-wife hostage for 23 hours. It was the first time an on-duty police officer was shot to death since 2001.