ZAMA — 2017 · Serial Murder
The Nine Murders in Zama — the "Twitter Killer"
Between August and October 2017 in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, a man contacted people who had shared suicidal thoughts on social media, promising to 'help' them, lured them to his apartment and killed nine people. Eight of the victims were young women, some of them high-school students. In October 2017, police searching for a missing 23-year-old woman found remains in the apartment and arrested him. Sentenced to death in 2020, he did not appeal and was executed on 27 June 2025, Japan's first execution in nearly three years. The case prompted wide debate on suicide-related content online and the protection of vulnerable young people.
- Date
- 2017
- Place
- Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, Zama, JP
- Category
- Serial Murder
- Case Status
- Solved
- Coordinates
- 35.4880, 139.4080 ↗
Timeline of Events
- August 2017The killings began in the Zama apartment.
- 31 October 2017Police searching for a missing woman entered the apartment; the perpetrator was arrested.
- 15 December 2020A Tokyo court imposed the death penalty.
- 27 June 2025The perpetrator was executed at the Tokyo Detention House.
Sources
- CNN — Japan executes 'Twitter killer' cnn.com ↗
- NBC News — Japan hangs 'Twitter killer' in first execution since 2022 nbcnews.com ↗
- Wikipedia — Zama killer en.wikipedia.org ↗
- Wikipedia (EN)
- CNN
- NBC News
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.