A Kobe court has disposed of all its records related to the ruling and investigation into a 1997 serial murder case involving a teen who killed two elementary school students and attacked three more, an official said Thursday.
While regulations by the Supreme Court state that, generally, records on incidents involving minors should be preserved until the individual reaches age 26, documents of historic value must be kept beyond the limit and in perpetuity under special preservation provisions.
The disposal of the documents by the Kobe Family Court, which come from a case that not only shocked the nation but was also a foundational moment in Japan imposing tougher punishments on underage offenders, highlights how criminal incidents and their records of historical significance are treated.
The perpetrator was 14 when he committed the crimes between February and May 1997 in Kobe's Suma Ward. They included decapitating a boy of 11 and leaving his head outside a school gate, and fatally striking a 10-year-old girl in the head with a hammer.
The family court official said the "way in which the files were preserved was not appropriate in light of today's special preservation measures."
The official said it remains unclear when and why the documents were discarded, as well as why special preservation was not granted.
Apart from papers relating to the ruling, the discarded records appear to include testimony recorded by the Hyogo prefectural police and Kobe prosecutors, inspection reports and expert evidence on the perpetrator's mental health.
Lawyer Ryoji Kudo, who was the attendant to the perpetrator, said the "disposal, including of expert evidence, is deeply regrettable," adding that extraordinary cases that capture society's attention should on a fundamental level be preserved.
Recent years have seen numerous cases of valuable court documents being disposed of, including in 2019 when courts across the country dumped valuable records from civil trials in the postwar period.
In response, the Supreme Court has been urging materials considered to be of value as "historical or reference documents" be preserved in perpetuity.
The top court said it would refrain from commenting on the family court's decision to destroy the documents as it was not currently aware of the reasons behind it or the circumstances at the time action was taken.
Now an adult, the perpetrator referred to as "Boy A" was arrested in June 1997 and later detained at a medical reformatory facility. He was released in 2005, and in 2015 he published his diaries under the pseudonym of "former Boy A."
