'Behead parents of boy murder suspect,' minister in charge of youth policy says

A state minister in charge of youth policy is under fire for his statement that the parents of a boy who committed a murder "should be dragged through the streets and beheaded".

Konoike Yoshitada made this comment at a news conference on July 11 referring to the incident in which a four-year-old boy was kidnapped in Nagasaki City on July 1 and was later found dead. The boy was apparently thrown from a building top. A junior-high school boy of 12 was held as suspect. The criminal code is applicable to people of 14 and older.

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi on July 11 criticized Konoike's remark for lacking "reason and restraint". He said that the need is to explore into the backgrounds and motivation and take steps to prevent similar incidents from occurring.

Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro in the House of Councilors Budget Committee meeting on July 11 said that Konoike's remarks were "inappropriate".

Citing passages from Konoike's website, Akahata of July 12 revealed that the remarks were not a mere slip of the tongue but represent the minister's conviction that the family members of a criminal should be beheaded. (end)