Japan, 2009. It is a morning in August and, in a car parking zone in Saitama – a regional centre about 30kms north of Tokyo – a rental automobile is noticed with a person mendacity within the again seat. His identify is Yoshiyuki Oide. But it seems that he is not having a fast nap – he is useless.
The reason behind demise is carbon monoxide poisoning and is initially considered a case of suicide. But the police aren’t satisfied, so that they knock on the door of the lady Oide had been relationship, 35-year-old Kanae Kijima. This marks the start of the investigation into what would grow to be identified within the media because the “Konkatsu killer” case. The identify derives from konkatsu, which means marriage searching.
The investigation uncovered proof that instructed Kijima had killed three males she met on relationship websites. The three deaths have been initially thought-about as suicides however have been all deemed to have been staged. The courtroom agreed and Kijima – who has at all times maintained her innocence – was discovered responsible in 2012, based mostly on what was extensively held to be largely circumstantial proof, and sentenced to demise. The resolution was upheld in subsequent appeals, and she or he is now on demise row awaiting execution.
Kijima’s case was much like the of Chisako Kakehi who died in jail on December 26 2024 whereas beneath sentence of demise. She had been discovered responsible of homicide and fraud and given the demise penalty after a courtroom discovered she had entrapped and swindled cash from three males (together with her husband) earlier than killing them utilizing cyanide.
But there was additionally a definite facet to Kijima’s case. From the beginning a lot of the media targeted on the defendant’s look somewhat than the heinous nature of the crime. Popular boards, newspapers, and magazines buzzed with variations on the identical query: how might a girl described as “ugly and fat” handle to draw these males?
There was hypothesis that her success lay in her “homely” qualities – the stereotype of chubby ladies being cheerful, nurturing and wonderful cooks. It was instructed that males would possibly favor such a girl’s heat and hospitality over a classy lady’s “air of superiority”.
In Japan, when any person is sentenced to demise, they have an inclination to vanish from the general public eye. But Kijima maintained a weblog the place she detailed her life and relationships – and continued to put in writing on it throughout and after the trial, most likely by her legal professionals. She nonetheless publishes on varied points: from the type of cookies accessible within the detention home to the circumstances within the demise row, from dietary recommendation to reflection on the lay assessor trial in Japanese felony process.
The media eagerly mined her posts to bolster stereotypes about gender roles and look, however Kijima pushed again. She has sharply criticised the deal with her seems and gender over the authorized proof, utilizing her reflections to highlight these biases.
Novelist Asako Yuzuki took inspiration from Kijima’s case to create a fictional narrative for her novel Butter. It’s a narrative during which a journalist protecting the story of a girl assassin is sucked into her swirling obsession with butter and indulgent meals, exposing fat-phobia and sexism in Japanese society.
Kijima, who has printed a memoir and a novel of her personal, expressed her deep discontent with the publication of the novel on her weblog: “What Yuzuki and the publisher are doing is nothing short of theft. If they interfere with external communication rights, they are not just thieves but complicit in murder. They continue to use my name without permission … I truly think it’s a vulgar book, BUTTER.”
But, once I interviewed her, Yuzuki insisted that she was within the implications of her case, in how Japanese media typically sensationalises tales, somewhat than the small print of the crime.
Japanese media … typically replicate the angle of highly effective males. … This realisation was a turning level for me. Until then, I hadn’t actually questioned a lot or paid shut consideration to politics or media bias. But when it got here to one thing I really like – cooking – it struck a nerve.
In her guide, Yuzuki questions some deep-seated Japanese stereotypes – significantly round ladies and cooking. She says that the idea of “marriage hunting” continues to be standard in Japan, and ladies who love cooking are sometimes labelled as “domestic” or “obedient”.
But, in her expertise, somebody keen about cooking is way from submissive. On the opposite, cooking is highly effective, and a girl expert within the kitchen might simply as simply hurt somebody as she might nourish them. “There’s a fine line between nurturing and dangerous precision,” she informed me.
Social media has grow to be a robust device for activists and writers like Yuzuki to attach with others and amplify their voices. She has joined different authors in advocating for marginalised teams, together with sexual minorities, highlighting the intersectionality of points comparable to gender, class, and felony justice.
The Kijima case, by the information, her weblog posts from jail, and thru the work of writers together with Yuzuki, invitations a deep reflection on the load of societal expectations on gender and look. Beyond the query of guilt or innocence, it illustrates how feminine criminals are judged not just for their actions however for defying norms of femininity.
This twin scrutiny aligns with historic biases in Japan, the place ladies who problem societal norms are sometimes framed as harmful outliers. Kijima’s portrayal as an unconventional femme fatale evokes the Nineteenth-century “poison women” trope – generally known as dofuku. This casts ladies as damaging forces who upend the lives of these round them.
The severity of Kijima’s punishment – the demise penalty was not used in any respect in 2023 and solely as soon as in 2022 – appears designed to ship exemplary justice. In the minds of many Japanese individuals she was responsible not solely of homicide however of manipulating societal expectations of femininity whereas failing to evolve to traditional requirements of magnificence and behavior.
The case has bolstered the narrative that her transgressions prolonged past the courtroom and into the realm of societal betrayal.