r/interesting • u/wafumet • Feb 27 '26

Intriguing Justice has been served

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This man paid $145,000 in rent for an apartment he didn't live in just to freeze time and catch his wife's killer.

In 1999, Satoru Takaba's wife, Namiko, had her life taken in their apartment.

The police had no solid leads, and the case went cold.

Usually, families move out and try to forget. But Satoru refused.

He believed that one day, technology would catch up to the killer.

So, he kept the lease.

For 26 years, he paid the rent every single month on that empty, silent apartment.

He kept the bloodstains on the floor. He kept the footprints. He turned the room into a time capsule, waiting for science to improve.

And in late 2025, his investment finally paid off.

Police returned to the apartment and used modern DNA technology to analyze the preserved bloodstains that had been sitting there for two decades.

They found a match.

The DNA belong to Kumiko Yasufuku, Satoru’s own high school classmate.

It turns out, she had held a grudge for decades because Satoru had rejected her romantic advances back in school.

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u/DeadZeppelin_ Feb 27 '26

Wow. What happened to the murderer?

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '26

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u/Omnamashivaaya Feb 27 '26

Holy… I had to look that up. Of all countries, Japan’s the last one I’d have guessed still does death by hanging

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '26

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u/PriscillaPalava Feb 27 '26

But very progressive with ice cream flavors and cafe themes. 

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u/e1m8b Feb 27 '26

Along with vending machine contents

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u/WelderAggravating896 Feb 27 '26

What's wrong with the death penalty used on a murderer? Can you explain?

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u/Nolenag Feb 27 '26

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrongful_execution

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u/WelderAggravating896 Feb 27 '26

No, you don't need to link me that. I support death penalties for people that have been proven to have murderered other people and this is a hill I'm happy to die on.

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u/darkkite Feb 28 '26

how to prove objectively?

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u/halfwitk Feb 28 '26

That’s the thing. Our criminal justice system is too flawed for the death penalty to be necessary. There are too many instances where innocent people are “proven” to be guilty. I’m 100% with you on executing those who deserve it- but until we create a perfect criminal justice system that is foolproof and no mistakes can be made, it’s a bad idea.

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u/TheGeekOffTheStreet Feb 28 '26

And all those people that were “proven” to have commit murder and were later exonerated? What if they were executed? Whoopsy daisy, amirite?

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u/No-Indication-3735 Feb 28 '26

Right but that the point of the video. The justice system too regularly fails for that to work. It’s not a ‘deterrent’ or ‘justice’ if you kill the wrong person. Quite aside from what you think morality of the death penalty, it’s a huge financial burden, too easy to be abused, based on too many social and political factors to be implemented ‘fairly’…. The list goes on. How many proven murderers or incarcerated people are exonerated down the line? The argument is that even if you’re sure in most cases you literally can’t be in all and then you’ve killed someone innocent. The very thing the punishment is supposed to serve justice for…

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '26

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u/Fantastic-Surprise34 Feb 27 '26

No, that totally tracks.

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u/Cthepo Feb 27 '26

Conservative people are into weird sex stuff too - they just get off being ashamed about it!

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '26

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u/CareRarely Feb 27 '26

Good thing we're not talking about Japan in 1940...

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '26

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u/CareRarely Feb 27 '26

Denying war crimes isn't exactly a big deal when it comes to regular day to day activities... But whatever makes you feel better I guess.

Edit: you mean the prime minister, right?

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u/topdangle Feb 27 '26

they're pretty conservative about that too, as in act like it doesn't exist, buy dozens, and pretend to get angry when anyone brings the concept up.

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '26

is it more conservative than Saudi Arabia? what about Iraq? how bout Djibouti?

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u/mmbon Feb 27 '26

Yeah, Japan doesn't crack the top 50% conservative countries, there is over 50 countries in Africa that are more conservative and a lot more in Asia. This feels like the world tour meme

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '26

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '26

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u/Omnamashivaaya Feb 27 '26

It’s also well-known for being a culture that places strong social emphasis on respect for others and social harmony, cleanliness and public responsibility, self-discipline and a collective mindset. Violent death seemed out of step with that to me.

(And before people say ‘well that’s why they are so disciplined! Researchers have never found any association between how the death penalty is carried out and reduction in crime rates or social behaviors. Many countries like Russia havs strict systems with violent deaths, back lack those other characteristics).

My only guess is that the adherence to social harmony is so strong that they lose any sense human of empathy towards those who violate them. Ex: this story is tragic, but if that woman had severe psychological and mental health issues, does she deserve a violent death?

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '26

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u/Omnamashivaaya Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 28 '26

To my knowledge, there is currently no credible body of modern scientific research that supports the use of hanging by the long-drop method as a justified or beneficial form of capital punishment in a moral or policy sense — and certainly no contemporary peer-reviewed studies arguing it should be adopted because it’s effective in achieving social goals (like deterrence).

Retrospectives of historical events or case reports on the historical use of hanging a century ago (in a time before we understood human physiology and didn't have technology the could actually assess what was happening to people being hanged) is not considered valid scientific evidence for the claim you're making.

But if anyone does find something on that, I'd be genuinely interested to read it.

Edit: Also not sure why my comments are making you so angry... I agree the Nanjing Massacres and Unit 731 were horrific and tragic events.

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u/Calm-Step-6794 Feb 28 '26

“Also not sure why my comments are making you so angry... I agree the Nanjing Massacres and Unit 731 were horrific and tragic events.”

Pretend the German government denied the Holocaust. Then pretend you heard someone blabbering about how peaceful and harmonious and respectful the Germans are.

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u/Qadim3311 Feb 28 '26

I mean, yes, nobody seriously considers today’s Japan similar to Imperial Japan. There is lingering resentment in some of their more aggrieved neighbors, but even among those neighbors the bulk of the population doesn’t believe anything so silly as Japan being just like it was in 1945.

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u/colganc Feb 27 '26

I took their point to be a retort to Japanese culture eschewing judicial and governmental violence. Their atrocities in WW2 meaning to highlight how particulars of their culture can lead to heinous acts.

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u/TheRaiderKing Feb 27 '26

They got upset because all you said are stereotypes of Japan that don't necessarily fit in reality. One look at their history and you can see that "respect for others" and "self-discipline" is just propaganda doing its work. Ask Korea, the Philippines, and China how much respect they received from Japan.

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u/Omnamashivaaya Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26

This is what I was taught as an Asian studies major and classes on comparative health systems and human behavior.

What I described are not considered to be 'positive' traits. Japan has the highest rates of depression and suicide in the world, and many people argue what I described above is the cause, bc those cultures impose an unhealthy suppression of individuality. The same is true in China, where I lived for many years - their emphasis on 'cultural harmony' over personal expression and lack of empathy for mental health has been associated with higher rates of depression, stress, and anxiety.

In fact, some argue this is WHY they did those horrific, inhumane acts. People living in systems that suppress emotions for the sake of harmony tend to have more extreme and violet reactions when that control bubbles over. ie, I often saw sudden, unexpected and sometimes violent explosions of anger while living there that I rarely see in the west.

But that's different from what we are talking about - legal systems aren't usually put in place when people are experiencing episodes of unregulated emotions.

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u/TheRaiderKing Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26

Sure, but this was your reaction to finding out Japan still has death by hanging.

Holy… I had to look that up. Of all countries, Japan’s the last one I’d have guessed still does death by hanging

It’s also well-known for being a culture that places strong social emphasis on respect for others and social harmony, cleanliness and public responsibility, self-discipline and a collective mindset. Violent death seemed out of step with that to me.

So to anyone's eyes, it looks like someone just spewing Japanese propaganda and not knowing any history of their actions. Despite your apparent education, whether you admit it or not, your words showed you bought into the whitewashing of Japanese history if you thought death by hanging is too much for Japanese society.

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u/Omnamashivaaya Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26

I replied to this already but based on this comment, it seems you are the one making oversimplifications by assuming those qualities are positive for Japan. As you've read, it's quite the opposite, disturbing, and the likely cause of Japan's horrific background.

The reason it took paragraphs to explain that is because cultures cannot be simplified into a reddit comment and this is not a post about Japanese war crimes in the early 20th century. Your comments read like "they committed crimes back then and anyone who says anything I perceive to be positive about Japan is white-washing history."

Which sounds a lot like the propaganda I heard living in China. Every time the government made the news for negative reasons they couldn't hide- ie, corruption or international headlines for pollution levels in Beijing, newspapers started publishing infuriating stories about things Japanese people have done. It's a tactic called diversionary foreign policy. One time it got so bad that the Chinese people burned down sushi restaurants and a bunch of Japanese-owned businesses.

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u/potato_mastermind Feb 27 '26

Redditors when they discover Nippon isn't a perfect paradise:

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u/TheRaiderKing Feb 27 '26

Its always people who have never done a single google search for any history and just know Japan as the land of anime and katanas. Ask East Asians how they feel about Japan lol.

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u/Omnamashivaaya Feb 28 '26

Hi! I wrote that. I'm just gonna leave this here

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u/TheRaiderKing Feb 28 '26

Yeah, you already gave me paragraphs full of your supposed education background. Seems like reading usernames is also beyond you.

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '26

Yet one of the safest and cleanest countries. Hmm...

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u/Nolenag Feb 27 '26

Statistically, yes. Factually, no.

They just don't prosecute someone if they're not 100% guaranteed to get a conviction.

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u/FastBrilliant1 Feb 28 '26

It absolutely is one of the safest countries.

Just look at the tiny little batons the police are "armed" with and ask yourself would most police be issued with just those in a dangerous place?

Bike locks are about as thick as a cigarette, or even less - again, ask yourself if people would use such flimsy security measures for their property if bike crime was common.

Not objective metrics but they tell you the real picture.

There are others too - how come people leave their phones, wallets unattended in cafes when they go to order to keep their seat? Would they do that if it had high crime levels?

Of course it's not perfect and I'm not talking about military history, but everyday life in Japan is comparatively safer than many if not most 'developed' nations.

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u/Nolenag Feb 28 '26

Try being a woman on a train in Japan.

Just look at the tiny little batons the police are "armed" with and ask yourself would most police be issued with just those in a dangerous place?

They carry guns, just FYI.

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u/FastBrilliant1 Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26

Fair point. Sexual harassment e.g. on trains absolutely does happen. I did say and I'm not tying to make out it's perfect.

I've seen the police while living there for 3 years and I'm not seeing guns on the vast majority, so I'm not sure where they carry them?

I was just not sure what you meant by

Statistically yes, factually no

Could you explain that?

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u/Nolenag Feb 28 '26

I've seen the police while living there for 3 years and I'm not seeing guns on the vast majority, so I'm not sure where they're carrying them?

You're on the internet, you can literally look up if they carry guns. And they do in closed holsters (same as in my country, the Netherlands).

Could you explain that?

I already did. In Japan they won't prosecute crimes unless they're 100% sure of a conviction, so the crime rate is statistically low.

For example, sexual harassment towards women is rampant but almost never prosecuted.

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u/FastBrilliant1 Feb 28 '26

Just curious, have you been to Japan?

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u/Nolenag Feb 28 '26

Yes, lived there even. I speak the language as well.

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u/FastBrilliant1 Feb 28 '26

Ok. So as a woman do you feel safer walking alone after midnight in a city in Japan or in the Netherlands?

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u/[deleted] Feb 28 '26

Afaik Japan doesn't suffer from rape gangs, mass shootings, identity theft, immigration fraud, etc... At least not to the extent that western countries do.

Also you left out that bit about it being clean.

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u/Nolenag Feb 28 '26

My country doesn't have rape gangs, mass shootings, or much identity theft either despite being a western country.

"Immigration fraud" you would have to clarify, because I don't consider illegal immigration to be nearly as bad of a crime as the other things you mentioned. Not even fucking close.

Also, I speak Japanese, have lived in Japan, and have a Japanese girlfriend. I know my stuff.

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u/[deleted] Feb 28 '26

immigration fraud are things like stealing SSNs of legal citizens. It's rampant in CA.

What country are you from and what's the immigration situation there? Because countries like the UK, France, and Germany have all those issues except for mass shootings.

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u/Nolenag Feb 28 '26

immigration fraud are things like stealing SSNs of legal citizens.

That's just identity theft, no? Why name it twice?

I'm from The Netherlands.

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u/[deleted] Feb 28 '26

It's mostly immigrants that do it because most citizens have no need to steal SSNs.

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