With the rise of social media, people can connect to others all over the world. Using YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, a user can gain a following, have thousands of likes, fans, or friends. Sometimes these “friends” are people from the past, most times they are complete strangers.

The good thing about online friends is that you can unfriend or block them if things don’t work out. Sometimes though, getting blocked or ghosted can cause someone to grow angry and even violent.

This is the story of a girl named Saya Suzuki, who at age 16 friended a stranger on…

Many young people who are victims of physical or sexual abuse, poverty, or dysfunctional family settings often get caught up with crime. Second chances are sometimes a good way to help some of these people who have been convicted of a crime at a young age and want to turn their life around.

Rehabilitating these young people, supporting them in their search for a better life and mental support is also a good way to ensure these people will not re-offend. However, sometimes, a second chance can be a big mistake.

This is the story of a man who was…

There is nothing more terrible than a missing child. The panic that sets in when you scan the area and can’t see them anywhere. Usually, they are just hiding around the corner and you are quickly reunited. Sometimes, you wander around the mall or the supermarket screaming your child’s name and they suddenly appear in tears. But sometimes, it’s not that easy.

Sometimes, no matter how much you are watching your child and how much they know not to wander too far or talk to strangers, something happens that shatters your life. This story is about a 5-year-old girl Yuki…

“No matter what I do, it always fails”

-Yasuaki Uwabe

We all have bad days. Sometimes no matter how hard we try to make things work, life doesn’t go as plan. But what happens when things start going so bad that you start blaming society and the people around you for your failures. What if you are not only dealing with troubles from your life, but also an internal struggle. Your mental illness creates in you, feelings of despair, anger, and defeat.

This is the story of a man named Yasuaki Uwabe. A man whose life started off great. He…

Many great and not so great men have been written into history. Sometimes they are great heroes in battle or politicians fighting for freedom, other times evil dictators and mass murderers who wreak havoc on society. Similarly in Japan, some figures have brought great respect to this small island country, while others have brought shame and disgust.

This is the story of a man named Sataro Fukiage, who is one of the earliest recorded serial killers in Japan. With a tough childhood, odd sexual encounters and experiences, and an escalating record of crimes, Sataro targeted over 100 girls as young…

As you get older, life gets busier and more complicated. With work, family, hobbies, and other parts of life taking center stage, friends seem to fade away. Many people lose contact with those they grew up with and friends from school or camp are just passing Instagram photos or Facebook updates. But then once in a while, a person who you haven’t seen or heard from in years reaches out.

And unlike strangers online who might be sexual predators, identity thieves, or even violent criminals out looking for victims, this person is a past friend who you know personally. So…

“She was not only confined physically, her soul was also in chains.”

-Hiroaki Iwai, criminal sociology expert at Tokyo’s Toyo University.

This is a story about a 9-year-old girl named Fusako Sano. Living in a small town in Japan, she was a typical elementary school student with an average life. Unfortunately, she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. A violent and disturbed man, 27-year-old Nobuyuki Sato saw her, wanted her, and took her. He brought her to his room and kept her for almost 10 years.

Why did it take so long to find her? How did…

“I lost my daughter and everything we’d ever share with her. I’ll never know the grandchildren she might have had. Her future disappeared because one man wanted to satisfy some weird sexual urge.”

-Mother of Carita

Traveling to a foreign country for work is always a risk. With no friends, family or people you can trust to help or support you, it can be quite scary. Especially if you don’t speak the language. But sometimes, moving to another country and starting fresh can be more trouble than just finding an apartment or getting along with coworkers. …