Defendant Asano being sent to prosecutionI recently asked the opinion of attorney Jiro Makino, who has handled numerous civil and criminal cases and has taught at Chuo University, University of Yamanashi, Ryukoku University, and the Graduate School of the University of Tokyo. Attorney Makino prefaced his opinion by saying, “I have not met the defendant himself directly, so this is only an inference based on the scope of the news report.” “Criminals and murderers are often thought of as barbaric people, but I don’t think that is the case with Mr. Tadashi Asano. He must have studied incredibly hard and have a strong sense of elitism, but I feel that he has developed a world of madness, a mixture of malice, obsession, and hatred.” “That’s why we have to do a thorough medical appraisal and figure out what kind of treatment is most desirable. It’s not just about whether he had the mere capacity to will or not, but deeper than that, whether he should be put in jail or not. In short, it’s fine if he is someone who can understand pain, but there is no denying that if you give him pain, he may become more insane and come out as a more dangerous person. I think that because he is an elite, he may have a factor that makes him even more dangerous than a regular criminal when he goes insane. We really need to be very careful.” “He won’t be cured in a regular prison unless he is given medical treatment in a medical prison or something so that his personality can be properly restored to normality and objectivity. That’s why I think it’s so important for doctors to be properly objective.” During questioning of the defendant, when Asano’s lawyer mentioned that Asano had passed the entrance exam for the sociology department of Hitotsubashi University from Gifu Prefectural High School, Asano replied, “I chose Hitotsubashi because the deviation score was just right and it looked like I could do many things there.” However, his mother said, “I wanted him to go to a university at least as far away as Nagoya, where our family can commute, instead of Tokyo, which is far away and where I don’t know anyone.”   Asano’s mother, concerned about her son’s depression, moved to Tokyo from Gifu for a short time to live with her granddaughter (Asano’s second daughter) and the three of them in Noborito. This is where the character of the defendant, who received plenty of parental love, emerges. Makino said, “He is a prominent local figure, and I think he has a strong sense that he is the elite of the elite. I think it’s a reflection of the fact that he feels that his wife, who ignores his superiority, doesn’t recognize him. Perhaps the second daughter, too, has no ability to look at things objectively, because she identifies with her mother and responds to her coldly, which turns into hatred and makes her feel that there is something wrong with her. It seems to me that his personality has been broken by his elitist consciousness, and the reaction is directed toward his wife and children. If you don’t figure that part out properly, no matter how much you chastise him, you will only feel hatred. If he is on parole, he will be out in 5 years. The elites are smart enough to know how to pander to the prison guards so they can get out sooner.” If you are a model prisoner who lives a disciplined and diligent life, you will be out in four to five years. At that time, will Asano still have the desire to kill his second daughter? Or has he come to his senses? Asano appealed the verdict handed down by the Saitama District Court. Will the day ever come when he will be able to think about the act of killing someone he once felt affection for? (Honorifics omitted in the text)