Exclusive: The Osaka 15-Year-Old Lynch Attack — Terrifying Video Reveals the Moment a Teen Feared Death

Your brother is going to get killed

Beating a defenseless boy one-sidedly, forcing him to kneel in apology, and stepping on his head. The video obtained by this magazine captured a brutal lynching so severe that the victim feared for his life.

On September 30, two teenage boys were referred to prosecutors on suspicion of assault and coercion for attacking a 15-year-old first-year high school student living in Osaka City and forcing him into a river. The victim has a developmental disability, and the assailants took advantage of his difficulty in expressing himself.

In mid-June, the victim had been called out to a riverbank in Osaka City by the boys under the pretext of sparring. The video in question was filmed at that time by an acquaintance of the assailant boys who was present at the scene.

A-kun (the victim) and his mother speak, their voices trembling.

“I learned about the incident about ten days after my son was assaulted. The main perpetrator, B, had been showing the video of the assault around, and someone who saw it told my daughter, ‘Your brother is going to get killed.’ When I confronted my son, he finally told me, ‘They kept hitting me the whole time, and in the end they pushed me under the river water.’ The assault took place over two days, and he was forced into the river on the first day.” (A-kun’s mother)

The two assailants were former classmates from junior high school and friends on the same rugby team. A-kun speaks hesitantly.

“Before the incident, I had said something teasing about B when he wasn’t around. B heard about it and exploded with rage. When B called me out to the riverbank and started beating me, I kept thinking, ‘If I don’t fight back, this will end sooner.’ So I didn’t resist and just endured it. I only remember the pain nothing else.” (A-kun)

The video shows B punching A-kun’s face and abdomen dozens of times. As if hitting him wasn’t enough to satisfy his anger, B demanded that A-kun apologize on his knees. When A-kun did as instructed, the other assailant stepped on his head with his shoe. Still, the violence against A-kun did not stop.

“Get in up to your chest,” they said, laughing

“The video recorded their exchange, and they were forcing my son to choose between sparring again, paying them money, or going into the river. Maybe he didn’t want to cause financial trouble for me, a single mother, because he said, ‘I’ll go into the river.’” (A-kun’s mother)

A-kun then removed his clothes and, in his underwear, stepped into the river. When he complained that the water was cold, the boys laughed and ordered him, “Get in up to your chest,” “Hold it there for ten seconds,” and so on.

“When I entered the river, I thought this was bad. The water was just too cold. Even so, they told me things like, ‘Go farther in.’” (A-kun)

That night, A-kun suffered serious injuries, including bruises on his face and left thigh, requiring about three weeks to heal. However, he did not tell his mother or report it to the police.

“He probably didn’t want to worry me. He washed his bloodstained school uniform by himself. When I noticed him limping and asked, ‘Are you okay?’ he didn’t say he’d been beaten—he lied and said, ‘I hurt myself playing rugby.’ Why didn’t I notice something was wrong back then. When I confronted him after seeing the video, he still wouldn’t say anything at first. I told him, ‘This is a matter of life and death, please tell me everything,’ and only then did he finally open up.

The two assailants had even come to our home before, together with my son. I was happy, thinking, ‘My son has made friends.’ And then something like this happened. I cried until my tears ran dry. Even now, I cannot forgive them.” (A-kun’s mother)

Around two weeks after the incident, in late June, A-kun’s mother filed a police report. It was accepted immediately, leading to the boys’ referral to prosecutors on September 30. The two assailants have been sent to the Osaka Family Court, where the case is expected to proceed.

How will the assailant boys respond to the grievous pleas of the victim and his mother?

From the November 14-21, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY”