Shiori Ino Stalking Law Murder
On October 26, 1999, 21-year-old university student Shiori Ino was stabbed to death outside Okegawa Station in Japan by a hitman named Yoshifumi Kubota, who had been hired by her abusive ex-boyfriend, Kazuhito Komatsu, and his associates. For months before the killing, Komatsu stalked and threatened her, while Ino and her family repeatedly begged the police for help, only to be brushed off and later smeared in the media as if she were a promiscuous flirt.
After journalists exposed the truth about the stalking campaign and police inaction, the public reacted with outrage. In November 2000, Japan responded by passing its first national anti-stalking law, and several police officers eventually faced discipline and criminal convictions for falsifying documents and mishandling her case.