was a Japanese serial killer convicted of the and the .
In 2000, Yamaji killed his mother during an argument. As he was a juvenile offender, youth detention was imposed, leading to Yamaji's release after two years. The case was high profile amidst a spate of other violent crimes perpetrated by teenagers in Japan.
In 2005, Yamaji raped and murdered sisters Asuka and Chihiro Uehara in a home invasion, setting fire to their apartment to destroy evidence. Due to the brutality of the crime and Yamaji's prior criminal record, there were renewed debates about the effectiveness of juvenile law.
Yamaji was sentenced to death in 2006 and executed in 2009.
Biography Yamaji's father, described as a physically abusive alcoholic who frequently changed jobs, died of cirrhosis in January 1995, leaving him to be raised by his mother as a single parent in Yamaguchi.『読売新聞』2000年7月31日 全国版 東京夕刊 夕一面1頁「16歳の少年がバットで母殺害、逮捕 「借金の使途知らされず」」 The family subsequently had severe financial difficulties. He graduated junior high school in the spring of 2000, having remained absent for nearly all of his final semester, with no plans for tertiary education.
Since late 1999, Yamaji was employed in newspaper delivery. He briefly quit in February 2000 before returning to work in April. A few hours before killing his mother, Yamaji told his boss that he was planning to run away from home, stating that he had argued with his mother after finding out about her substantial debts. His boss promised to increase Yamaji's delivery jobs to aid in this.
Matricide On July 29, 2000, at about 9:00 p.m., Yamaji, aged 16, murdered his 50-year-old mother in their shared apartment. According to Yamaji, his mother had made a silent call to a woman her son was romantically interested in, which caused an argument after Yamaji found out. Eventually, the argument shifted towards the family's debts, during which Yamaji retrieved a metal baseball bat and beat his mother to death. She died of blunt force trauma to the head and chest.小川善照『我思うゆえに我あり 死刑囚・山地 悠紀夫の二度の殺人』小学館、2009年（平成21年）
Yamaji did not report the murder for the following day, during which he did newspaper delivery jobs as usual. On July 31, at about 1:00 a.m., he called emergency services and confessed to killing his mother. Police arrived at the apartment, found the body, and arrested him. In custody, Yamaji showed signs of remorse, but also refused to apologise for the murder, as he blamed his mother for his lack of friends, claiming she neglected him.
Juvenile detention and release Yamaji's trial was held at Yamaguchi Family Court. On September 14, 2000, it was decided that Yamaji should be placed in a juvenile training school in Okayama, due to mitigating factors such as his lack of previous acts of juvenile delinquency and his disadvantaged familial background. As Yamaji was a minor at the time of the murder, his name was not reported and he was instead referred to by the alias initial "Y" . He received provisional release in October 2003 and full release in April 2004.
While at the training school, Yamaji was diagnosed with a pervasive developmental disorder, later specified as Asperger syndrome. However, a reassessment following the murder of the Uehara sisters determined that Yamaji instead had several personality disorders, including antisocial personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder, and sexual sadism disorder.『読売新聞』2006年10月24日 全国版 東京朝刊 3社37頁「大阪・姉妹殺害放火事件 責任能力認める精神鑑定書採用／地裁『読売新聞』2006年10月24日 全国版 大阪朝刊 2社38頁「姉妹刺殺事件 「被告に完全責任能力」精神鑑定書を証拠採用／大阪地裁」 At the time of Yamaji's release, a psychiatrist at the training school stated that interactions with him gave the impression that Yamaji "doesn't really care about obeying the law".『読売新聞』2005年12月19日 全国版 大阪夕刊 夕社会13頁「大阪の姉妹刺殺自供 繰り返された凶行 母親殴殺、少年院3年」
Upon his release, Yamaji briefly worked at a pachinko parlor in Shimonoseki before quitting in April 2004. In February 2005, Yamaji joined a gang of thieves who stole money from pachinko machines, living with the group at a shared apartment. In the following months, the group moved to Fukuoka, then Osaka where, in November 2005, Yamaji cut ties with his accomplices, as he was unhappy with his share of the stolen money. He subsequently lived homeless, sleeping rough in parks and temples. During the investigation for the double murder, Yamaji admitted that he underwent spontaneous ejaculation while killing his mother and had hoped that killing again would provide him with the same experience, since he believed he had no other prospects in life.「侵入容疑の男、姉妹殺害容疑で再逮捕 「血見たかった」」『朝日新聞』朝日新聞社、2005年12月19日。
Double homicide On November 17, 2005, Yamaji raped and murdered a 27-year-old Asuka Uehara and her 19-year-old sister, Chihiro, with a knife, in Naniwa-ku, Osaka. He then set fire to their apartment and fled. The two victims had never met Yamaji before. He was arrested on December 5, 2005. While in custody, he stated to the Osaka police, "I could not forget the feeling when I killed my mother, and wanted to see human blood."
Sentence On December 13, 2006, the Osaka District Court sentenced him to death. His defense launched an appeal, but according to his lawyers he retracted it since he was reluctant to pursue leniency. He was executed at the Osaka Detention House alongside serial killer Hiroshi Maeue on July 28, 2009.
See also List of executions in Japan List of serial killers by country Matricide Volunteer (capital punishment)
References
External links 山地悠紀夫事件