A man arrested for the murder of his probation officer in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, made social media posts last month that could be interpreted as expressions of dissatisfaction with his probation, according to police sources. Several posts criticizing the parole system were found on Twitter, made from an account believed to belong to the suspect, Kohei Iizuka.

Shiga Prefectural Police believe Iizuka, 35, may have carried out a premeditated attack on Hiroshi Shinjo, 60, due to his dissatisfaction with his parole. Iizuka was under Shinjo's supervision after receiving a suspended prison sentence for robbing a convenience store. He was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of stabbing Shinjo more than 10 times in the upper body with a knife. at the probation officer's home between 7:00 p.m. on May 24 and approximately 4:00 p.m. on May 26. Iizuka denied the allegations.

Shinjo had scheduled a meeting with Iizuka at his home at 7:00 pm on May 24th. Iizuka was caught on the intercom camera at Shinjo's door and nearby security cameras walking towards Shinjo's house around the same time. Further investigation revealed that Iizuka left Shinjo's house less than half an hour after arriving. When Shinjo's body was discovered on May 26, the living room lights were still on, suggesting he was expecting a visitor. Police also discovered traces of a visitor at Shinjo's house. They believe Iizuka killed Shinjo during the meeting and are continuing their investigation.

In response to the murder case, The Ministry of Justice issued a nationwide notice to all probation offices on Monday, requesting a thorough inspection to ensure there are no problems between probation officers and people under their supervision.with the goal of ensuring the safety of the officers. The notice instructs employees to check whether probation officers have made comments suggesting retaliation and to gather any concerns probation officers may have through telephone or in-person consultations.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi said it is important to create an environment in which social welfare officers can work smoothly. “I think all probation officers in Japan are feeling anxious.“he said. “First of all, we will respond strongly to the feelings of public welfare workers..”

Iizuka's Twitter account was created in February 2022. By April of this year, he had made approximately 25,000 posts, and by the beginning of this month, the account had over 400 followers.

Initially, her posts focused on topics related to popular seiyuus.but, little by little, complaints about the work environment began to appear. Comments such as “I'm currently tired of complicated work relationships“ and “Nobody wants to do that kind of work“ became common. He also posted that he had quit his job and changed jobs several times.

From August 2022 onwards, criticism of the police and the justice system began to increase. Statements such as “The police repress citizens“ and “Trials are nothing but a farce with a predetermined guilty verdict“ became frequent.

Extreme posts related to interest in the assassination began to increase in the summer of 2023. In August, he posted: “The world is mad if an ordinary citizen can be sentenced to death for committing murder“ and “I hope to regain freedom from murder (destruction of power, denial of murder by power).“. In December of the same year, he wrote: “I'm fantasizing about killing, I already have the plan.“.

During this period, he also expressed his dissatisfaction with his workplace and society in general. In October last year, he posted: “This society is not fit for human beings“ and between November and December he wrote: “Parole is useless“ and “The word “protection” is a dangerous word“. Posts critical of the police continued. The last post was on April 5th, after replying to a post from a popular voice actor I was following, and then it stopped.

Source: Yaraon!