First Memorial Speech by Resident of ‘Sagamihara Massacre’ Care Facility Given by Yukari Okutsu on Seven Year Anniversary of Killings

By Barrier Free Japan, Jiji, NHK

July 26 2023

Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Pref – Nineteen people were killed by a former worker at a facility for people with disabilities in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, on July 26, 2016. A memorial ceremony was held on Wednesday for the 19 people killed in the attack.

The perpetrator reportedly said he wanted to kill people who cannot communicate with others.

A 59 year-old mother of one of the victims named Miho (aged 19 at the time of her death), whose family wished to reveal only her first name, has told Kyodo News that she is still in mourning over her daughter’s death:

“It remains painful to accept the bitter truth that my beloved Miho will never return,” she said. “I hope the incident is never forgotten so that the 19 people who lost their lives didn’t do so in vain, and so that society progresses toward eliminating discrimination against the disabled.”

Yukari Okutsu (54), who has lived in the facility since before the attack, told the gathering at the ceremony that she tries to ease the anxiety of her fellow residents by talking to them when they are in trouble. She went on to say, “My 19 friends, please continue watching over us from heaven.” Okutsu gave the first memorial speech by a resident of the facility.

Okutsu, who has intellectual disabilities, although not harmed when the stabbings occurred, living in the same building as some who did die. According to NHK, she still has nightmares related to the stabbings:

“Even now, I have many dreams in which I dreamt that I died, or that I was killed. I thought that I was going to be killed, or that I would be decapitated, and so on. When I wake up, it’s just a dream.”

When asked about the man who committed the stabbings that “people with severe disabilities do not deserve to live,” Okutsu’s eyes widened and she rebuked it in a strong tone of voice, saying:

“It is ridiculous to say that people with severe disabilities do not deserve to live. That is absolutely not true. I truly hold a grudge.”

“We should never ever let such a sad incident happen again,” Kiyomitsu Nagai, 53, leader of Tsukui Yamayuri-en, said. “We must not forget the 19 people whose lives were lost.”

The ceremony was hosted by the Kanagawa prefectural and Sagamihara city governments and the operator of Tsukui Yamayuri-en. Kanagawa Governor Yuji Kuroiwa condemned the assailant in his address, calling his motives self-centered, irresponsible and wrong. He said such a sad incident must never be repeated.

Following the governor’s address, participants offered silent prayers.

Participants included bereaved family members and users of the care home’s services, whom offered flowers and prayed for the victims. The flowers were laid in front of a monument set up at the facility.

The names of 10 of the 19 victims are etched on the monument. According to the prefectural government, seven names were originally inscribed when the monument was erected in July 2021. The remaining three were added later.