The Reason an Unemployed Man Arrested for Threatening a Former AKB Idol Repeatedly Posted Murder Threats Online

“I’m going to slaughter you, so look forward to it.”

Because his face was hidden behind a large mask and long bangs, the man’s expression was almost impossible to read. Yet, the narrow eyes barely visible above the mask glared sharply into the camera—like daggers.

The Shinjuku Police Department arrested Yuichiro Murata (26), an unemployed man from Osaka City, on suspicion of making threatening posts against former AKB48 member Yuiri Murayama. At around 2:10 a.m. on August 3, he allegedly wrote on the internet forum 5channel:

“I’m coming to massacre you and your family, so look forward to it, lolol.”

“Murayama has been starring as Okita Sōji in the musical Shin Bakumatsu Junjōden, which opened at Kinokuniya Hall in Shinjuku on August 8. The role of Okita has previously been played by big names like Ryoko Hirosue and Satomi Ishihara. For Murayama, who graduated from AKB in June, this was her first major role, drawing a lot of attention.

What made Murata’s post even more alarming was that it hinted at carrying out the threat during a stage performance. On August 4, police received a tip, and investigators traced the IP address back to Murata,” explained a reporter from a national newspaper’s social affairs desk.

This was not Murata’s first arrest for online threats. In July 2024, he was also arrested by Osaka police for threatening Murayama, later receiving a suspended sentence of six months in prison with three years’ probation.

Why, then, did Murata persist in repeatedly issuing murder threats against Murayama?

The crime was revenge for being slandered himself

The incident last year involved Murata posting on an online message board three times that he would kill Murayama at Shin-Osaka Station, which led to his arrest after being reported by other users.

According to details revealed in last year’s trial, Murata was a fan of former AKB member Nana Okada (27), but his behavior was considered problematic, and he was expelled from the fan club multiple times. He stated that he disliked Murayama because she was trying to easily gain popularity by leeching off Okada. After quarreling online with Murayama’s fans, he and even his family were subjected to slander, and he decided to commit the crime as revenge against Murayama’s fans.

When the prosecutor asked whether he thought his own behavior was problematic, he said that he couldn’t rationally think that way, and that was why he kept posting, giving the impression that he did not seem particularly remorseful (according to a writer familiar with the case).

According to police, regarding his motive for the current crime, Murata stated: “After I was arrested last year, slander against me kept repeating, and I was attacked, so I gave in to my anger and posted,” “If I don’t argue back, I get criticized, and if I do argue back, I get criticized even more,” and “I am fighting alone.”

Murata, who had already been frequently attacked online, was further mocked and derided as a “convict” after his arrest last year, and the number of such comments only increased.

Driven by feelings of hatred toward others, Murata sent a murder threat to Murayama, who was not involved at all. Was there truly no way for him to escape from the endless back-and-forth of slander in the online world?──

He walked on, showing no change in demeanor.

He had posted on “5channel” that he would “go massacre” former AKB member Yuiri Murayama.