"Japan's welcome gift" is not a very fair way to put it, I think. I'm upset by these news too (as would anyone be who's planning on eventually visiting Japan ), but from what I can tell Japan is still a pretty safe place to live, as long as you use your best judgement and don't take any unnecessary risks. At the end of the day the murder happened because some psycho decided to target a trusting young woman with supposedly little experience of the customs and norms of behaviour of the country she was visiting. What surprises me is that the ESL organisation that emplyed Miss Hawker didn't take (greater?) care to inform her of the risks of venturing out alone as a foreigner.

~annelie

I also don`t think it`s fair to say "welcome gift" at all.

Japan is a very safe country. The reason this is such HUGE news is *because* it`s a safe country. If Japan were a dangerous country, it wouldn`t be news.
Think about if this had happened in your home country. How big of news would it have been?

I know that when I was in high school, the Chinese teacher we had was raped and murdered by the older brother of one of the students in her class.
It didn`t even make front page, and I am sure there was no international outrage. In fact, it was only news in the school for a week or so.

There are crazy people everywhere, and she was very unlucky to have encountered one. I really don`t think Japan is any more dangerous for foreigners than anyone else. It`s just that because Japan is so very safe to begin with, when things like this *do* happen they are made into worldwide spectacles.

Japan is very safe. You just have to use common sense like you should in any country - because nowhere in the world is 100% safe.

i just think its odd how one incident has every one up in arms.....

Maybe person was waaaaaaaay too in to Anime and tried to imitate Gaara from Naruto.

She worked for NOVA which as requires their teachers a) to not associate with students outside of the classroom and b) as is customary in all English teacher companies not provide lessons on a private basis.

Yeah, now in actual relation to the story I think it is getting coverage because the suspected killer of the other British girl who was murdered a few years back is awaiting his final verdict.

That's good to know, as I'm considering applying for a job with that organisation. :)