Abstract
Background: Incidents of homicides and murder suicides caused by fatigue due to care burdens continue to occur in Japan; yet, there has been almost no research regarding the features and trends of such incidents or measures toward their prevention.
Goals: This study clarifies the features and trends among incidents of homicides and murder–suicides occurring in Japan committed by family members or resulting from care-related factors and identifies clues toward preventing the occurrence of similar incidents in future.
Research Methods: Using national statistics, a newspaper article database, precedents, and memorandums of caregivers, incidents of homicides or murder–suicides by family caregivers were identified.
Results: More than half of the perpetrators were male, while more than half of the victims were female. In terms of relationship, the highest proportion of incidents concerned husbands killing their wives, followed by sons killing a parent. Many victims were between the ages of 80–85.
Discussion: It is estimated that males are more likely than females to become impasse in caregiving roles; the improvement of support for male caregivers is called for to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.
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Acknowledgment
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) Grant Number 24616019.
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Yuhara, E. (2018). Incidents of Homicides or Murder–Suicides by Family Caregivers in Japan and Challenges for Prevention. In: Liu, J., Miyazawa, S. (eds) Crime and Justice in Contemporary Japan. Springer Series on Asian Criminology and Criminal Justice Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69359-0_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69359-0_4
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