Local Community Reaction in Kyoto Case Highlights Concerns About Information Sharing

Because it’s a small community

A case in which the body of an 11-year-old boy was found in a mountain forest in Sonobe Town, Nantan City, Kyoto Prefecture attracted widespread public attention from the very beginning due to many unanswered questions.

Three days after the body was discovered, on April 16, the boy’s stepfather, who had been arrested on suspicion of abandoning a corpse, began giving statements, gradually revealing the outline of the case.

Since the boy’s disappearance, social media had seen an intensification of mystery-solving activity, including speculation about the perpetrator. This attention translated into high TV ratings and article traffic, leading many reporters to converge on the small town. A reporter from a Tokyo TV station said, “Whatever we aired resulted in abnormal numbers.” Different crews from the same network also arrived for different programs, creating a chaotic situation. Local residents were left deeply confused by the situation.

“I have lived in this town for 70 years, but I don’t recall a murder case. Even so, is it necessary for so many media outlets to come to such a small town and report on it every day?” (Woman in her 70s living in Nantan City)

“I was acquainted with a relative on the mother’s side of the boy’s family, but the media have been stationed outside their home every day, forcing them to take time off work. It is truly pitiful. I feel anger toward the excessive media coverage.” (Woman familiar with the family)

Nantan City has a population of about 30,000. It was formed in 2006 through the merger of four towns, and as of 2020, about 36% of its population was aged 65 or older, reflecting ongoing population decline.

Sonobe Town, where the incident took place, is about an hour from central Kyoto by highway. When visiting, it gives the impression of a pastoral rural town. Although Sonobe covers a wide area of about 103 km², most residents are concentrated around Sonobe Station. People living in the mountainous areas where the family lived referred to those in the center as people from town.

In rural towns like Sonobe, when incidents occur, residents tend to fall into two groups: those who speak openly and those who remain silent. In this case, it was clearly the latter. Local residents told reporters the following:

“Because it’s a small community, if you speak to TV reporters, people can figure out who said it.”

“There are group chats in the community where information is shared, so we can’t say careless things.”

“Even when going shopping at the supermarket, the media approach us. It’s exhausting. It feels pointless to respond properly. One of my friends got so fed up that they said they just gave them random information they found online.”

“I just want to live in peace.”

Throughout the town, private homes with “No Media” signs posted on them could be seen here and there. A gag order was quickly imposed at the Adachi couple’s workplace, while dozens of media outlets swarmed their relatives.

With many residents keeping silent, media outlets swarmed the few people willing to speak. As this media frenzy continued for several weeks, distrust of the press spread among the residents.

Nantan City was a community where community welfare commissioners—who assist with residents’ daily lives and general welfare—were very active. I had the opportunity to speak with several of these commissioners, who stated, “There are many people in Nantan City who need support with their daily lives,” and revealed that the community bonds are strong. An elderly man I met at a restaurant lamented, “It used to be the kind of place where people would go out without locking their doors.”

A neighbor of the apartment in Sonobe Town where Yuki and his mother are believed to have lived together for several years confided:

“I go for a walk every morning, but I’ve never seen Yuki or his mother during school hours. I had heard that a single mother had moved back from Tokyo and was living in this apartment. After the incident, some people said, ‘It was an incident caused by an outsider (suspect Yuki).’”

The elderly man mentioned earlier sighed as if appealing to the reporter, saying, “We just want to live in peace.”