Prayers Offered for Victims of Sagamihara Care Home Attack

From Jiji

July 26 2026

Sagamihara, Kanagawa Pref – Many people visited the Tsukui Yamayuri-en residential facility for people with disabilities in the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, on Sunday, the 10th anniversary of a mass stabbing attack that left 45 residents and staff members dead or injured. 
   Visitors quietly offered prayers that such a tragedy would never happen again and paid tribute to the 19 victims who lost their lives in the attack.
   Despite intense heat and occasional torrential downpours accompanied by thunder, many flowers were placed at an offering stand set up in front of a memorial monument.
   Chikiko Ono, 84, whose eldest son was seriously injured in the attack, visited the facility with her husband, Takashi, 82. Reflecting on the tragedy, she said, “There is not a day that goes by without us talking about Yamayuri-en. It feels as though our lives have been intertwined with the facility.”
   A 47-year-old man from Atsugi, Kanagawa, whose wife has worked at the facility since before the attack, stressed that he does not want the incident to fade from public memory. “Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye,” he said. Looking at his 7-year-old and 4-year-old sons, who accompanied him, the man added, “I hope they grow up free from prejudice and discrimination.”