On November 25, 1988, four male teenagers raped, tortured, and murdered a 17-year-old girl named Junko Furuta in Adachi City, Japan. The perpetrators physically abused the teenage girl for over 40 days before she took her last breath. The case drew nationwide attention, and investigation agencies didn’t leave any stone unturned to find the culprits.
As soon as the authorities started investigating, they learned how gruesome the case was. However, the culprits evaded capture until the police apprehended them in another case. Upon their arrest, the authorities revealed that four teenage boys—Hiroshi Miyano, Jō Ogura, Shinji Minato, and Yasushi Watanabe—were responsible for the murder of Junko Furuta.
A trial took place in the case, and all four perpetrators pled guilty to committing bodily injury that resulted in Furuta’s death. As a result, the court sent them to prison.
Junko Furuta’s killers now: Are they still in jail & how were they caught?
As mentioned above, the court sent all four culprits to prison. Hiroshi Miyano was sentenced to 17 years in prison. However, he contested his sentencing and wanted his punishment to be less. But the court dismissed his appeal and added three extra years to his sentence. Meanwhile, the other culprits—Jō Ogura, Shinji Minato, and Yasushi Watanabe—received a term of five to ten years. Although their current whereabouts are unknown, Junko Furuta’s killers are now free and living their lives independently.
The investigators had a hard time arresting the aforementioned criminals. Reportedly, the police apprehended Miyano and Ogura in another sexual assault case. Eventually, the duo confessed to the crimes against Junko Furuta. In the following days, the police arrested the other two culprits and sent them to prison.
Junko Furuta’s case turned out to be one of the most gruesome cases in Japan’s post-war history. In 2004, a feature film, Concrete, was based on the Junko Furuta murder case.
