NAGASAKI: Senior citizens at the Nagasaki Elderly Civilian Storage (NECS) can ventilate a sigh of relief with the dramatic apprehension of the serial killer commonly known as the Sensei Slaughterer, who for months tormented inmates of this, the largest old-age home in central Japan. Takashi Moriyama, formerly a ward boy at Osaka General Hospital, was apprehended when he accidentally slipped on one of his own banana peels - his deadly weapon in many a horrific act of murder.

Since May 2003, Takashi has caused the tumbling-related deaths of 32 seniors, all of them over 75 years old. His modus operandi was to wait around corners that solitary seniors would turn around, and throw banana peels in their paths. "It usually took about three peels per head, since they would sometimes miss the first one," said Takashi, in his written confession. "I believe it is important to kill all these seniors who have served their purpose to this society and are now increasingly difficult to support given Japan's problem with an ageing population and a decreasing taxation base," he added in his articulate defense. Japanese youth are up in arms demanding Takashi's release.

While it was earlier assumed that Takashi was working at the behest of children irate at their parents' slow descent to death in expensive facilities, it was the savage assault on a lonely widower with no relatives that made authorities reconsider their focus towards the possibly that the killings were the work of a deranged individual with no direct personal gain motivation. The case of the attack on Tojo Morikawa will probably be the most important rationale in helping defense lawyers prove that Takashi was not a mercenary killer, but an egalitarian social philosopher interested in ridding society of welfare parasites at random, without discrimination or regard for the individuals themselves.

Tojo Moriwaka was a gentle botanist who had been living a life of tragic loneliness since his wife of 45 years died of a brain hemorrhage ten years ago. In 1992, his son had died during his high school graduation, an event which drove his daughter to lunacy and eventually suicide the next year. Since then, Tojo had been working as a road-crossing assistant outside a junior school in Nagasaki, at a very low salary, which caused him to lose his home because he was unable to pay the apartment maintenance costs. This was the apartment Tojo and his wife had worked 30 years to build.

Tojo had recently revived a life of happiness upon meeting Sugiyama, a lady he was madly in love with as young a soldier 60 years ago. Both thought the other had died during a bombing event, which dreadfully ended a wonderful romance. An intimate moment during CPR this summer revived the romance between the octogenarians.

Sugiyama was crippled and poor, Tojo despite his age and painful hunch, would cradle her in his arms and carry her everywhere. From neighbors in the geriatric ward, the two moved up to cohabitation in Tojo's subsidized room at NECS. With rising expenses of living together, he started a regular job as a gardener, working up to 10 hours daily while Sugi, as he tenderly called her, sat on a stone he would carry her to every morning, watching him gently tend to the flowers. "For the first time after years, Tojo was happy. The pain on his face from hours of hard work in my garden were nothing compared to the joy he exuded each time he turned around to look at Sugi," said Jinichiro, Tojo's multi-millionaire nephew and employer.

On the evening of Sept 13, Tojo was carrying Sugi back to their room after a day at work, when a lethal banana peel appeared out of nowhere, right under his feet. Slipping instantly, he fell, but sent Sugi flying out of his arms straight up in the air for a few seconds. Despite the loud cracking noise upon his fall, Tojo was thinking of Sugi, and quickly got back up, while she was still up in the air, but falling in slow motion with hands waving desperately. At this point, the spiteful slayer threw two more banana peels straight at Tojo's feet, making him slip again, this time falling on his pelvic bone with an ugly smashing reverberation. Sugi meanwhile fell straight on Tojo's head, which instantly cracked what remained of her backbone and threw her five feet away from Tojo.

As she lay breathing her last, Tojo moved desperately towards her, but with a splintered skull and useless legs, he could only drag himself slowly towards her closing eyes, fixed on him. "He tried to touch her one last time even as she passed on, crying out 'Sugi, Sugi,' but her eyes shut before he could reach her," said Tanaka Watanabe, one of the undercover policemen who were laying the sting operation to catch Takashi.

The waiting police appeared out of hiding, and leapt towards shadowy figure that threw the banana peel, Takashi. Sensing danger upon seeing 10 policemen darting towards him, Takashi ran, but in the process, slipped on one of his own banana peels, falling on the Sugi, who seemed momentarily to make a comeback. Having watched the entire incident, the police have fool proof evidence against the seemingly nasty bastard.

Tojo was lucky to survive with his life, though he is now completely waist neck down, and is trying to reclaim his job as a gardner so he can be near the stone on which Sugi sat. Garden estate owner Junichiro however is wary about letting Tojo back into his garden. "Earlier I used to let him do the garden since he was willing to do stuff at a heavily discounted rate, but now I don't know if it is in my best interests to let him back, since his work speed will be too slow now that he is permanently on crutches. Also, being my uncle, I suspect he may try to squeeze me to sponsor a wheelchair, which is totally out of my budget these days."

Takashi mean considers himself a social activist. "Today nobody sees the value of my work, but by the year 2020, when all our youth are living on plain rice and onions so that the state can pay for these ripened skeletons to enjoy enemas and world class healthcare, then everyone will recognize me for my work."




Janghia Prufrock