After 18 years, students are still remembering the tragedy. (Image via Japan Times)

Remembering the 18th Year of Stabbing Rampage at Ikeda School

It was a typical Friday morning in Osaka on Friday, June 8, 2001. Students went inside their classroom to study for the whole day, just like any other day. Nothing was surreal or abnormal that morning, until the clock ticked at 10.15 a.m.

Suddenly, a 37-year-old former janitor, Mamoru Takuma, entered the school while holding a kitchen knife. Not long after he first stepped at the school, he started to stab school children and teacher. Due to his absurd action, 7 female students and a male student died. However, there were also 15 students and 2 teachers who were badly wounded.

After numerous investigations were done, the police concluded that Takuma was diagnosed with paranoid personality disorder. It is also revealed that he went through various obstacles in his life, such as dropped out of high school and discarded from the Air Force with no reason. Not only with his academic and career, he also revealed that he has a bad relationship with his wife that she wanted to divorce him. Takuma stated that he did the mass stabbing rampage because he wanted to relieve stress and wanted to die. He knew that killing children would get a death penalty, and that was what he wanted to do. In 2004, Takuma was executed, just as he wished.

Today, 18 years later, a memorial service was held on Saturday, in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture. There were a lot of people who attended the service as there were 1,400 of them. The recent school principal made a speech where he asked people not to forget about the tragedy.