Junko Furuta was a 17-year-old senior at Yashio-Minami High School in Misato, Saitama Prefecture, Japan, who lived with her parents and two brothers. She worked a part-time job to save for a graduation trip and had accepted a post-graduation job at an electronics retailer. She was described by friends and teachers as well liked, with good grades and few absences.
On the evening of 25 November 1988, Furuta was approached and abducted by a group of male teenagers, including Hiroshi Miyano, Jō Ogura, Shinji Minato, and Yasushi Watanabe, after being knocked off her bicycle. Miyano, falsely claiming to be a yakuza member, coerced her into compliance through threats against her and her family. She was taken to a hotel where she was raped, and subsequently confined in a room at Minato's family home in Adachi, Tokyo, for 40 days. During this period, Furuta's parents reported her missing to police, but the group forced her to call her mother multiple times to claim she was safe. Two additional teenagers, identified in court documents as "E" and "F," participated in raping her but not in her killing.
Over the following weeks, Furuta was subjected to repeated physical and sexual assault, including burning, beatings, forced ingestion of alcohol and other substances, and insertion of objects causing injury. By late December 1988 she was severely malnourished and had sustained disfiguring injuries. On 4 January 1989, following an incident in which Miyano lost money gambling, the group subjected Furuta to a final, sustained assault lasting roughly two hours, during which she was burned and beaten; she died that morning. The group then encased her body in concrete inside a metal drum and dumped it at a vacant lot on Wakasu island in Kōtō, Tokyo.
Miyano and Ogura were arrested in early 1989 in connection with an unrelated gang rape; during police questioning, Miyano disclosed the location of Furuta's body. The drum was recovered on 29 March 1989, and Furuta was identified by fingerprints. Additional suspects, including Minato and Watanabe, were subsequently arrested.
Because all defendants were legal juveniles, the court initially sealed their identities, though a tabloid later published their names. In July 1990, the Tokyo District Court convicted all of abduction for sexual assault, confinement, rape, assault, murder, and abandonment of a corpse. Sentences ranged from a range of three to four years up to seventeen years. Following appeals, the Tokyo High Court re-sentenced three of the defendants to longer terms in July 1991, with sentences ultimately ranging from five years to twenty years. The case drew significant public criticism over the perceived leniency of sentencing relative to the severity of the crime, though legal professionals surveyed at the time generally considered the sentences consistent with judicial precedent for juvenile offenders. The case is widely described in Japanese public discourse as among the most severe instances of juvenile crime in the country's post-war history.
Furuta begins a part-time job at a plastic molding factory to save money for a graduation trip.
1988-11-08
The group abducts and gang-rapes a 19-year-old woman in Adachi, Tokyo.
1988-11-25
Furuta is abducted in Misato, Saitama Prefecture, and coerced by Hiroshi Miyano.
1988-11-26
Furuta is confined at Shinji Minato's family home in Adachi, Tokyo, beginning a 40-day captivity.
1988-11-27
Furuta's parents report her disappearance to police.
1988-11-28
Furuta is gang-raped by the group, including two additional teenagers; further torture follows.
1988-12-27
The group abducts and gang-rapes a second 19-year-old woman in Adachi, during Furuta's captivity.
1989-01-04
Furuta dies after a prolonged assault by the group.
1989-01-05
The group encases Furuta's body in concrete inside a metal drum and dumps it at Wakasu, Kōtō, Tokyo.
1989-03-29
The drum containing Furuta's body is recovered and she is identified via fingerprints.
1989-04-02
Furuta's funeral is held.
1990-07
The Tokyo District Court convicts and sentences all four main defendants.
1991-07
The Tokyo High Court re-sentences three defendants to longer prison terms on appeal.
1992-07
The Supreme Court of Japan denies Yasushi Watanabe's appeal.
2021-05
Yasushi Watanabe dies at age 49.
2022-07-16
Jō Ogura (later known as Kamisaku) dies in an accident at age 51.
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Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status; see the dossier above for sourced case facts.
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Eleanor Neale / 23 min
THE JUNKO FURUTA CASE
People
Yasushi Watanabe
CONVICTED
Convicted alongside co-defendants; originally sentenced to three to four years, re-sentenced to five to seven years on appeal; final appeal to the Supreme Court denied in 1992.
Jō Ogura
CONVICTED
Convicted alongside co-defendants; sentenced to five to ten years in prison.
Junko Furuta
VICTIM
17-year-old high school student who was abducted, raped, tortured, and killed over a 40-day period.
Shinji Minato
CONVICTED
Convicted alongside co-defendants; originally sentenced to five to six years, re-sentenced to five to nine years on appeal.
Hiroshi Miyano
CONVICTED
Convicted of abduction, confinement, rape, assault, murder, and abandonment of a corpse; originally sentenced to 17 years, re-sentenced to 20 years on appeal.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Junko Furuta, a 17-year-old Japanese high school student, was abducted, held captive, and repeatedly raped and tortured over 40 days by a group of male teenagers before being killed in January 1989; her body was found encased in concrete inside a metal drum.
Where did the murder happen?
Wakasu, Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan (body recovery site).
Who was convicted?
Yasushi Watanabe (Convicted alongside co-defendants; originally sentenced to three to four years, re-sentenced to five to seven years on appeal; final appeal to the Supreme Court denied in 1992.), Jō Ogura (Convicted alongside co-defendants; sentenced to five to ten years in prison.), Shinji Minato (Convicted alongside co-defendants; originally sentenced to five to six years, re-sentenced to five to nine years on appeal.), and Hiroshi Miyano (Convicted of abduction, confinement, rape, assault, murder, and abandonment of a corpse; originally sentenced to 17 years, re-sentenced to 20 years on appeal.).
