Suzuka Hatakeyama is arrested June 4 in connection with the death of elementary-school student、Goken Yoneyama.

The boy went missing on his way home from school May 17 and was found strangled the following day.

Traces of blood and urine, believed to be from the boy, were found at the home of Hatakeyama -- one house away from where the boy lived -- and in the trunk of her car, police sources said. The evidence indicates that he was killed in the woman's house.

The boy's murder followed the death of Hatakeyama's 9-year-old daughter, Ayaka, a schoolmate of the boy's. The girl was found dead April 10 in a river about 2 km from where the boy's body was found, after she went missing the previous day.

The police first ruled out foul play when the girl died, but after Goken's murder, they have reopened the case to investigate whether there is any connection between the two deaths. Media hoopla questioned Intense media attention given to the murder of the boy and the arrest of the suspect have raised questions about media coverage of such cases.

Numerous reporters and camera crews closely watched Suzuka Hatakeyama's moves from May 18, the day after the boy was found dead. The coverage frustrated Hatakeyama, and she was seen yelling at reporters.

Some weekly magazines nearly named her as the murderer before her arrest.

"Media have focused only on whether (Hatakeyama) would be arrested or not. It should follow police investigations and put more effort into digging into what is behind the case instead," Yasuhiko Tajima, a professor at Sophia University, said.

Hatakeyama sent a request to the Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization on May 24, and the organization requested that media refrain from giving excessive coverage to the case while a local media group in Akita, comprised of 15 newspaper and broadcasting companies, created guidelines to limit their reporting.

Tajima said such measures were somewhat successful in limiting the coverage, but they should have been taken before protests were received.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 10, 2006
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