Japan’s Most Disturbing Child Killer

Japan’s Most Disturbing Child Killer

From True Crime Recaps by Amy Townsend, Chris Nathan

June 4, 2026 · 20 min

About this episode

This episode recounts the horrifying true story of Japan's most infamous child killer, Shinichiro Azuma, and the impact of his crimes on the nation.

In 1997, the city of Kobe, Japan was shaken by one of the most horrifying crimes in modern history. A school caretaker arrived at a junior high school early in the morning and discovered the severed head of an 11-year-old boy placed at the front gate. Inside the child’s mouth was a handwritten letter taunting police and daring them to stop the killer. What investigators uncovered next shocked the entire country. The murderer turned out to be just fourteen years old. Known publicly only as “Boy A,” Shinichiro Azuma had already attacked multiple children before killing Jun Hase. As police pieced together the disturbing letters, violent assaults, and escalating behavior, they uncovered a teenager obsessed with death, violence, and control. His crimes would spark nationwide fear and forever change Japan’s juvenile justice laws. Years later, after his release from detention, the killer resurfaced again with a controversial memoir describing his crimes and thoughts in chilling detail. This is the terrifying true story of the Kobe child murders and the boy who became one of Japan’s most infamous killers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Hosts: Amy Townsend, Chris Nathan

Topics covered

  • child killer
  • true crime
  • juvenile justice
  • Kobe murders
  • Japan
  • violence
  • crime investigation

Keywords

  • child murder
  • Kobe
  • Shinichiro Azuma
  • true crime
  • juvenile justice
  • 1997
  • Japan
  • crime
  • violence

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Kobe, Japan

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