Hell On Earth: The Case of Junko Furuta

***TW: Rape, graphic descriptions, abuse, torture***

Junko Furuta was a pretty Japanese school girl. Being the top of her class as well as having a good job, she was envied by her fellow classmates. But, she was on her way towards success. Her fellow classmate Hiroshi Miyano had a crush on her and decided to ask her out one day. Junko politely declined and Hiroshi grew furious. What Junko didn’t know was that Hiroshi had strong relations with Japan's crime world and the Yakuza.

On November 25th, 1988 at 8:30 pm Junko was riding her bike home after work. Hiroshi and his friend, Nobuharu Minato, were prowling the streets, looking for young women to rape and rob. They saw Junko and made a plan. Hiroshi ran up to her and knocked her off of her bike. Nobuharu acted as an innocent bystander who walked up to her and helped her, going to the extent to offer to walk her home. She accepted but she wasn’t lead home.

Nobuharu lead Junko to a warehouse. Once there, his Yakuza connections were revealed. There, he raped her and then brought her to a nearby hotel where she was once again raped. Hiroshi called his friends, including Hiroshi, and bragged to him and two others, Jo Ogura and Yasushi Watanabe, about the rape. Jo reportedly asked for him to keep her so that they could have turns.

At around 3 AM, Nobuharu took her to a nearby park. Hiroshi, Jo, and Yasushi were waiting there. They told her that they knew where she lived and would kill her family if she attempted to escape. She was taken to Hiroshi’s house, which later became a gang hideout, and gang raped.

Two days after the abduction, Junko’s parents filed a police report on their missing daughter. The boys forced her to call her her mother and tell her that she is with a friend and ran away and that the investigation must be discontinued.

When they were around Hiroshi’s parents, Junko was forced to act as his girlfriend until it was clear that his parents would not report him to the police. His parents knew of his Yakuza connections and feared that something would happen to them if they said anything.

Junko Furuta was held captive for a gruesome 44 days. During these 44 days, she was tortured in some of the most inhuman ways. The four of them, as well as various other Yakuza members who stopped by:

Raped her over 400 times, beat her, starved her, hung her from the ceiling and used her as a punching bag, dropped barbells on her stomach, made her eat live cockroaches and drink her own urine, forced her to masturbate in front of them, inserted various foreign objects into her vagina and anus, including a still lit light-bulb, setting off fireworks into her anus, vagina, mouth, and ears, burnt her vagina and clitoris with cigarette ashes, burnt her eyelids with hot wax and lighters, tore her left nipple off, and pierced her breasts with sewing needles.

Some of the boys who tortured Junko Furuta were identified. Some of these boys included Tetsuo Nakamura and Koichi Ihara, who was reportedly bullied into raping her. Both of these boys were later tried and charged with rape. Koichi told his brother about the incident, who then told their parents. Their parents called the police who went to Hiroshi’s house, but were falsely informed that there was no girl inside and did not go in to investigate even when invited in. Both officers received harsh backlash from the community and were later fired. Later that year in December, Junko attempted to call the police. Before she was able to say anything, Hiroshi hung up the phone. Shortly later the police called back and he said that it was a mistake.

As punishment, they doused her legs in lighter fluid and set her on fire. They also forced a bottle up her anus as another punishment. This caused not only severe bleeding and for her to also go into convulsions.The boys claimed they thought she was faking a seizure, so they set her on fire again. Junko unfortunately survived, and I say unfortunately because I’m certain it would have been better for her to have been put out of her misery than to continue suffering. In fact, it was reported that Junko asked them to “kill her and get it over with” on multiple occasions after this. They refused and then put her out on the balcony and put her in a freezer.

Due to the severity of the torture, Junko began to lose control of her bowels and couldn’t eat or drink anything. She also couldn’t use her hands or legs, and one of the boys said it would take her an hour to get downstairs and use the bathroom. If she tried to eat or drink, she would vomit. She was severely beaten for this and for soiling the carpet. Junko was severely disfigured and her appearance was altered due to the brutal torture. It was difficult to make out her facial features due to the extremely swollen nature of her face. Her body was extremely crippled and it began to give off a rotting smell. This caused the boys to lose sexual interest in her. So, they kidnapped another woman, age 19 and gang-raped her.

One day, they challenged Junko to a game of Mahjong, a traditional game created in China. Junko won the game, and this infuriated the boys. They kicked her, punched her, beat her with a barbell, and burnt her eyelids with hot wax. The boys then forced her to stand and struck her legs and feet. At this point, Junko was bleeding profusely. They continued to beat her and then doused her whole body in lighter fluid and set her on fire. She attempted to put out the fire, but to no avail. The attack reportedly lasted for two hours. This is where Junko Furuta is finally relieved of her suffering. She succumbs to her wounds and dies that day, January 4, 1989.

After about a full day, and the boys finally realized that she had died, they wrapped her body in blankets and shoved it into a travel bag. They then placed her body into a 55-gallon drum and filled it with concrete.

On January 23, 1989 Hiroshi Miyano and Jo Ogura were arrested for the gang rape of another woman, the 19 year old they had kidnapped only a month prior. March 29, 1989, the police came to interrogate them as they found a pair of womens underwear at the address. One of the officers unknowingly lead Hiroshi into confessing the murder of Junko Furuta. Hiroshi believed that Jo had confessed, so he told them where to find Junko’s body. The officers were puzzled as they were talking about another case, the murder of a woman and her seven-year-old son, which remains unsolved to this day.

Although this whole case is obviously infuriating and disgusting, what makes me the angriest is the sentences that the four boys received. None of them pled guilty to the murder of Junko Furuta, but they did confess to “committing bodily injury that resulted in death.” Due to all of them being considered juveniles at the time, their sentences were reduced. Many, including myself, believe that they should have all served maximum time due to the severity of the crime. Hiroshi Miyano, the leader of the crime, faced and served a total of only 20 years in jail. Hiroshi’s parents also payed Junko’s parents a sum of 50 million yen, or 425,000 USD.

Nobuharu Minato was 16 at the time of the murder and was sentenced to only five-to-nine years. When released, he lived with his mother and has not worked since. Yasushi Watanabe was 17 at the time of the murder and was sentenced to only five-to-seven years. When he was released he got married.

Jo Ogura was 17 at the time of the murder and served only eight years in juvenile prison and was released August 1999. After his release, he often bragged about his part in the murder and rape of Junko. In 2004, Jo was arrested once again for assaulting a man who he believed had been in touch with his girlfriend(how they manage to get dates and even marry after this, I have no idea). He served another seven years after this. Jo’s mother apparently even vandalized the grave of Junko Furuta. She said that she had ruined her son’s life. It is also said that Jo had gone through all of his fathers savings, all of which was supposed to go to the Furuta’s.

The trial of these boys wasn’t easy on anybody. One member of the jury fainted, and Junko’s mother suffered a mental break down. After this, she had to go through psychiatric treatment.

The funeral for Junko Furuta was held on April 2, 1989. One of her friends said this at the memorial; “Jun-chan, welcome back. I have never dreamed that we would see you again in this way. You must have been in so much pain ... so much suffering ... The happi we all made for the school festival looked really good on you. We will never forget you. I have heard that the headmaster has presented you with a graduation certificate. So we graduated together – all of us. Jun-chan, there is no more pain, no more suffering. Please rest in peace…” Junko’s employer also gave her parents a uniform that she would have worn if she was a full-time employee. The uniform was placed in her coffin.

The case has been referenced in few places in pop culture. From songs such as 44 Days by Mr. Kitty to movies like Concrete as well as a few books tell the story of Junko Furuta. Some, such as the novel 17-sai by Seiji Fujii depict a happier ending for her. But, the manga, Shin Gendai Ryōkiden, shows the case as how it truly is. Violent, gruesome, disgusting.

The 29th anniversary of Junko Furuta's death is coming up in a little over a month on January 4th.