By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry

Japanese online friends charged with murder

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It is truly a bizarre and terrible incident about which the Japanese media reported at length this weekend.

According to police, three men (between 32 and 40 years old) killed a 31-year-old woman in Nagoya on August 24th. They are accused of kidnapping the woman and robbing her of about 60,000 Yen (520 USD). The victim was killed later in a parking lot.

Believe it or not, the police says all three people are members of a mobile Internet “crime community” and did not know each other before! The men met online to find partners to commit a crime to get money. Luckily they were caught and indicted this Friday.

There is certainly a dark side to the Japanese Internet world. The country has a long history of Internet related suicides. Total strangers become acquainted online and then meet in the real world to commit suicide together.

Cybercrime is a big issue in this otherwise very safe country. In the past, the Japanese police has been heavily criticized in the public for being too slow in responding to Internet-related crime.

About the author

Dr. Serkan Toto

I am the CEO & Founder of Kantan Games Inc., an independent consultancy focused on Japan’s game industry.

Please feel free to connect via Email (Serkan at kantangames.com), LinkedIn or Twitter.

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By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry