Victims Mourned 9 Years after Care Home Rampage in Kanagawa

From Jiji

July 26 2025

Sagamihara, Kanagawa Pref – A memorial ceremony was held Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the killing rampage at Tsukui Yamayuri-en, a care home for people with disabilities in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, that left 19 residents dead. 
   The ceremony was organized by the Kanagawa prefectural government and others and held at the facility’s gymnasium. A total of 85 participants, including bereaved families and facility staff, as well as Kanagawa Governor Yuji Kuroiwa, offered a silent prayer.
   “The time we spent (with the victims) at Tsukui Yamayuri-en remains in our hearts as a happy memory,” Kiyomitsu Nagai, head of the facility, said in a speech.
   “On that day, our lives were overturned, and it took five years to restore them,” said Kazuma Otsuki, who leads a group of the families of facility users. “We will never forget you (the victims) all.”
   Following the ceremony, attendees laid flowers at a monument for the victims.