He Stabbed Her 61 Times Because He Loved Her

The attack on celebrity Mayu Tomita by an obsessed fan.

Celebrities and those in the public eye have often been victims of a variety of crimes because of the attention and allure that surrounds them. Sometimes stalked, like Madonna or Rihanna, the stalker follows them, leaves strange messages on their social media, and attempts to break into their homes. Other times, like with John Lennon and Selena, who were killed by their fan/stalker, the outcome is much more tragic.

The line between huge fan and obsessed stalker has been getting thinner as it’s possible for everyone to follow their favorite celebrities on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and other platforms. Without much effort, you can find the location and whereabouts of your favorite celebrity.

This story is about a man named Tomohiro Iwazaki, a 27-year-old man who was obsessed with his favorite singer and Idol, Mayu Tomita. A 20-year-old singer, dancer, and actress, Mayu was still a university student while living her dream as a Japanese Idol Celebrity. Why was he so obsessed with Mayu? What changed his admiration to anger? How did he find and stab her 61 times? Could this crime have been prevented?

Rising Star

Mayu Tomita was born on October 12, 1995, and had dreamed of being an idol since she was very young. At age 15, she was one of the stars of Fuji TV’s show Secret Girls, which is a show about a group of teenage girls who have a secret life as Idols. Kind of like Hannah Montanna, the show is made for young adults. However, in Japan, mostly men in their 30s and 40s follow Idols and attend their shows.

Along with being part of the show, the Secret Girls cast toured around Japan putting on dance performances for their fans. As Mayu started gaining popularity, she was also featured in other shows, movies, and made television appearances. But despite fame slowly filling her life, Mayu didn’t drop out of university. She continued to attend a private university in Tokyo, majoring in music.

Obsessed Fan

Tomohiro was 27 years old when the attack occurred. He told police he wanted to kill Mayu because she returned the gifts he had sent her back to him. He was a fan of hers who followed her on Twitter and her blog.

He constantly wrote her messages on both her platforms for about four months before the attack. Messages complimenting her looks, her music, and showering her with praise. He also confessed his feelings of love towards her and even said he hoped that they would one day be married.

Around January or February, Tomohiro sent Mayu a watch and some books as a present. The value was said to be about 20,000 yen or US$200. But Mayu decided it was not safe to accept the gifts, nor lead a fan on as it may increase his infatuation with her. So she sent the gifts back to him and refused his proposal of marriage.

After that rejection, Tomohiro sent about 140 tweets and messages in anger including death threats. He felt she had humiliated him and made him feel inconsequential. Some of his messages included,

“I will never forget that I was looked down upon by you” ( Feb. 22)

“It would be extreme to kill just because (someone was) rejected by a girl” (March 15)

The Crime

“You should die, die, die!”

- said by Tomohiro Iwasaki as he attacked Mayu

It was May 21, 2016, in Tokyo, Japan. 20-year-old Mayu Tomita was in Shinjuku hanging out, shopping, and preparing for her performance at night. She was a university student studying music and was on her way to becoming a famous Japanese Pop Idol.

Tweeting about her joy and anticipation, she was excited about being part of an event called Solid Girls Night, where she was scheduled to perform around 9 pm. However, she never got to perform.

At around 5 pm, in Koganei City, Tokyo, near Musashi-Koganei Station outside the live house where she was set to perform, a man named Tomohiro Iwasaki was waiting for her. He was no stranger and Mayu knew something bad was about to happen. She called 110, which is the equivalent of 911 in Japan, stated her name, and was heard saying, “I can’t seem to enter…help…”

The phone dropped to the floor but the call lasted 10 minutes. It’s possible while the operator was on the phone with Mayu, Tomohiro was already in the middle of his attack. Near the end of the call, sirens could be heard so the operator hung up.

Using the name given, the police found a home address and sent police to her home. Unfortunately, the police didn’t trace the cell phone or they would have known she was not at home. Luckily, people around Mayu who witnessed the attack called the police.

After the attack, where Tomohiro used a small knife of about 8.5 cm or 3 inches to stab Mayu, she collapsed on the ground. She had been stabbed repeatedly about 61 times in the face, neck, belly, and back. She was rushed to the hospital where she was in a coma for two weeks.

When police arrived, Tomohiro was still on the scene and was arrested after witnesses said they saw him attack Mayu with a knife. One of the people attending the event told police she was being followed by the man who was demanding her phone number.

They found the bloody folding knife Tomohiro had used and he admitted to attacking and stabbing Mayu. According to police, Tomohiro said he stabbed Mayu because he had sent her gifts which she sent back to him. He wanted an explanation from her but her answer had been ambiguous. So Tomohiro enraged, stabbed her repeatedly. Tomohiro was quoted as telling police,

“I ambushed her at the station and asked her (about the gift). I lost my temper and stabbed her many times because she didn’t clearly answer.”

After being in a coma for 2 weeks, Mayu finally regained consciousness on June 7th, 2016. She was hospitalized for four months and had to undergo many reconstructive surgeries and rehabilitation. She survived the ordeal but remains partially blind in her left eye. She has trouble talking, eating and singing, and has not regained the full use of the fingers on one hand. She also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the attack.

Her lawyer said that “Ms. Tomita still has to visit the hospital for treatment of injuries to her neck and face, which have not fully healed. And because she is unable to use her fingers, she has no idea when she can continue pursuing her music career.”

Careless Police

After getting so many hate messages from him, she blocked him. She also went to the Metropolitan Police department in Tokyo to report the harassment. She visited the police 12 days before the attack to tell them about the threatening messages she got from Tomihiro on Twitter.

Mayu told reporters,

“I explained every detail about the danger I felt at that time and also told the police officers about my worries and fear that I could be killed.”

After an investigation was done to find out why the police didn’t take action, three police officers who had spoken to her told the Asahi newspaper, they had “no recollection about Ms. Tomita bringing up fears about being possibly attacked. Instead, they thought that Ms.Tomita had only wanted them to stop Iwazaki from harassing her online.” They felt the Twitter hate was not an immediate threat.

For that reason, they didn’t report the incident to any higher-up officials. Mayu said she, “remains scarred physically and psychologically from the savage attack that left her in a coma for two weeks.”

Two days before the concert, she again contacted the police with details of her performance and fears of her stalker, but they did not provide any additional security.

Mayu’s lawyers said the crime could have been prevented if Tokyo Metropolitan Police had taken action, with Mayu adding, “There are no days since the attack that I do not think about the incident.”

Arrest and Trial

After the incident and Tomohiro’s arrest, The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office Tachikawa Branch applied for the psychological examination by an expert to check whether or not there was criminal liability at the time of the incident. Tomohiro was accused of attempting murder and violating the Firearms and Swords Act.

In court, Tomohiro’s lawyers tried to argue that he had no intention of killing Mayu. When asked, Tomohiro said, “I didn’t intend to kill her. I didn’t think she would die. The knife I had on the day of the crime was a lucky charm to give me power when talking to Mayu.” But with 61 stab wounds, prosecutors thought Tomohiro not thinking Mayu would die was dishonest.

Especially since, Tomohiro told police officers and prosecutors who interviewed him on camera, “I’m not going to apologize to Mayu. I don’t think I’m 100% at fault. I was going to kill her if our conversation went bad. I bought a knife just in case to kill her.”

However, Tomohiro later in court denied it, saying, “I don’t remember saying that. I felt terrible after the incident. The statement I made at the investigation stage was not my true intention.”

Mayu Testifies

“I want my former body with no injuries back!”

During the trial, Mayu testified behind a screen because she didn’t want to face Tomohiro nor did she want people to see her scarred face. Mayu explained that since the attack, the most important things in her life had been taken away such as acting, singing, and studying at college. When Mayu was talking about her dreams being crushed, Tomohiro was seen laughing.

She also had fears of people attacking her. Telling the court, “When I see a person holding a pen, even if it is a friend or my doctor, I become really nervous because I fear I may be stabbed.”

Mayu spoke for 20 minutes in the courtroom. She talked about her fears and hopes that justice would be served,

“While I am just stating my opinion I think that my attacker hates me. He will try to come and kill me this time. I can’t sleep at night properly as he regularly appears in my dreams, trying to kill me. I generally believe that he is the type of person who will kill anyone.”

At this, Tomohiro shouted, “Well, kill me then” and was removed immediately from the courtroom. Mayu ended her testimony by saying, “Please deliver a harsh judgment to my attacker as I don’t want a similar attack to happen again. I don’t want another person to suffer. I can never forgive him for what he did to me as deep scars remain on my body as well as in my heart.”

Sentencing

Tomohiro pleaded guilty to attempted murder and the court agreed with the prosecutors that Tomohiro had premeditated and planned the attack. Before the verdict was handed down, Tomohiro apologized to Mayu and her family and promised to learn patience in prison.

In February 2017, Tomohiro was found guilty and sentenced to 14 years and 6 months in jail.

But despite his apology, many in the court seeing him during the trial felt he wasn’t sorry. A psychologist studying the case felt Tomohiro was happy that his actions caused a permanent mark in Mayu’s mind. To him, it was a way that she would remember him for the rest of her life.

Mayu was upset that Tomohiro got a small prison term. “The criminal only received a mere 14 years. He is walking on the other side of the fence. So, I am feeling nothing but fear and anxiety. I can’t help but be afraid for my life. Who knows if he’ll hold a grudge against me and kill me for real next time.”

Fighting for Change

After the trial, though Tomohiro was behind bars, Mayu wasn’t finished fighting. In 2019, she filed a lawsuit against the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tomohiro, and her agent for 76 million yen or about US $800,000. She felt the police had been careless and ignored her pleas when she told them she feared for her life. When police officers interviewed Mayu in the hospital after the attack, she told them she might be killed when she first reported the threats she got from Tomohiro.

Police also confirmed that they were aware of Tomohiro’s threats saying, “We are very much aware that we could not prevent the incident despite being consulted beforehand. We are working as a team to prevent a recurrence.”

Mayu decided to file the suit because she wanted more people to know about the dangers of stalking, saying, “I will continue my fight in the hopes that this court case will help prevent potential future incidents and save potential future victims.”

Along with the lawsuit and spotlight on stalking cases, Mayu’s case further enhanced the Anti-Stalker Act which was enacted in 2000 because of the stalking and murder of a 21-year-old girl Shiori Ino.

Along with the act that gives more power to victims of stalking to file complaints and have police take action, the updates in 2016 added both email and social media stalking as well. Mayu’s case helped protect victims of online stalking and harassment as well as face to face. Mayu was lucky that despite being attacked and stabbed multiple times, she survived the attack and was able to get justice.

And instead of hiding and letting the fear and trauma she felt consume her life, she decided to make a stand and try to change the law and how people treat victims of physical and online harassment. She will always carry with her the scars and permanent injuries the attack caused but hopefully, she will also bring with her the courage she had to share her story and protect others.

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