Daughter of 9 medical school waifs dismembers her mother…! The “reality” depicted by the author in the popular book, “The Curse of the Mother, the Prison of the Daughter

-I have heard that many readers have commented that they too can understand Akari’s feelings and think that they too could have been like this. I think the fact that Ms. Saito herself went into her life quite deeply and wrote this book is the reason why readers were able to empathize with her. However, as a journalist, it can be frightening to enter deeply into the life of a subject, as you may become absorbed in the story and lose an impartial point of view.

As for this book, I think it disqualifies me as a journalist in terms of the distance I feel from the subjects I cover. A news reporter cannot be impartial unless he or she is willing to give up a certain distance from the subject of the interview. I have also been a member of a news agency, so I have been skeptical in a good sense, and have kept a distance from the subjects I have covered. However, as I proceeded with this interview, for better or worse, I felt the distance between my heart and Akari’s, and in the end I had no choice but to write about her life as if I had been there myself. So, I have been criticized by people in the journalism world, and I think that is to be expected. I, too, am a “daughter,” not a mother. I think this work was made possible because I was able to stand by Akari in that respect.

-Did your mother read this book as well?

Yes, she did. She was happier that her daughter published a book than the content. I realized that I am her daughter after all. So, my impression of the book was just, “You did a good job of researching the book” (laughs). (laugh).

(laughs) – Do you plan to work as a nonfiction writer in the future?

I have no plans at all. I was able to write this book because of a combination of luck and fate. I was able to produce something that was beyond my experience and ability, so I wondered if I would ever be able to reproduce this quality.　When I think about it, I can’t say that I can …… do it or that I want to do it. I thought that writing a book would be an extension of the interviewing and writing of articles that I did when I was a reporter, but when I actually tried it, I found it extremely difficult. I was reliving the 30 years of her suffering by interviewing her and looking at various records, and I found myself becoming very distressed. I sometimes had trouble sleeping, and I think it was a very special environment. I would like to think about the future once I have calmed down.

-In the preface of this book, you write, “I want to bring this book to all people who are struggling with family relationships. Do you want such people to pick up the book in the future?

I would like it to be read by mothers in particular. I would like mothers to read the book, especially those who are mothers, and to think about whether they are not tormenting their daughters because they love them.　I hope this book will be an opportunity for them to do so. I hope this book will be an opportunity for them to do so.

On January 26, 2009, the Osaka High Court sentenced the mother to 10 years in prison on the grounds that her daughter had been subjected to “abnormal interference and surveillance” that led to her murder, and that there were some aspects of the circumstances that were worthy of sympathy. The case is a horrific incident that was born out of a frayed spot in anyone’s life. This is a book that should be read by those who have never read nonfiction before.