Japan mass killing sparks debate on mental health

Some are also wondering why the suspect, who had written letters in February saying he would kill hundreds of handicapped people, was not kept under surveillance after he left hospital. “Involuntary commitment is done forcefully by the authorities...If the time period drags on longer than necessary, it becomes a serious violation of human rights,” a newspaper said in an editorial. “However, there were warning signs before the incident,” said the Asahi, one of Japan’s two biggest newspapers. “Was the treatment and monitoring of the man sufficient”? 

The suspect, 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu, gave himself up to police just an hour after the frenzied attack at the facility in the sleepy town of Sagamihara, southwest of Tokyo early on Tuesday. Given the warning signs, mainstream media raised the question of whether Uematsu had been discharged too soon from hospital, where he had tested positive for marijuana use and exhibited signs of paranoia. Experts said there were no legal limits on the length of involuntary hospitalisation but a discharge was required once the patient was no longer deemed a danger to himself or others. The decision is up to the doctors, so it’s difficult to second guess. 

“The general public might think, ‘Why was such a person let loose?’ but forcible commitment is against the person’s will so the conditions should be strict,” said Fumie Kyo, a lawyer specialising in mental health patients’ rights. Nevertheless, Kyo added, it might have been possible to keep Uematsu in hospital longer under protective care even if he was no longer judged a threat to others.