Under juvenile law, she will not be tried for criminal responsibility because she is under 14.

The sixth-grade suspect has been in juvenile detention since June 1, when she allegedly led 12-year-old Satomi Mitarai to an empty classroom at a Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, elementary school during their lunch hour, slit her neck and arms with a box-cutting knife, and left her to bleed to death. Among choices the panel of three judges have is to place her in a juvenile correctional facility. It was unclear how long she could be sentenced to that facility.

Kyodo News agency said court proceedings would be completed by June 29, unless the girl is put under psychological testing.

A letter written by Satomi's father, Kyoji, 54, dominated media June 8.

The letter, expressing his loss and confusion since his daughter's slaying, was published on the front pages of national newspapers.

"Why aren't you here? That's what I can't understand," he wrote, reminiscing about how his daughter had cheered him up after Satomi's mother died from cancer three years ago.

"Where are you? Have you seen your mother yet? Where are you playing now?" said the letter.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 12, 2004
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