Photo/Illutration A woman holds back tears after laying flowers at a stand in front of the Tsukui Yamayurien care home in Sagamihara’s Midori Ward in Kanagawa Prefecture on July 26. (Kazuhiro Nagashima)

SAGAMIHARA, Kanagawa Prefecture—Flowers and prayers were offered, tears were shed and messages for future generations were given on July 26 at the site of one of the worst mass murders in Japan’s history.

The mourners marked the fourth anniversary of the stabbing spree at the Tsukui Yamayurien care home, which is undergoing reconstruction.

Satoshi Uematsu, 30, murdered 19 disabled people and injured 26 others, some of them seriously, while they were sleeping at the home early in the morning in July 2016.

During his trial, Uematsu argued that people who are not useful to others have no value in life. His death sentence was finalized in March.

Kazuya Ono, 47, was seriously injured during the stabbing rampage.

His father, Takeshi, 76, said: “The incident will be quickly forgotten if it ends with the execution of Uematsu. I have to tell more people about the incident.”

Tetsuo Suzuki, 73, who lives in Sagamihara’s Midori Ward, said his late sister was disabled.

He said the recent arrests of two doctors on suspicion of murdering a female amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patient reminded him of the stabbing rampage at the care home.

The woman had posted online that she wanted to die, and the two doctors injected a drug at her request, according to the investigation.

“The victim may have had difficulty in living,” Suzuki said. “I think anyone needs an environment that gives them assurances that they can keep living.”

(This article was written by Kanoko Tsuchiya and Mirei Jinguji.)

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