This is Kanae Kijima-the so called “Black Widow of Japan”. She was sentenced to death in April of 2012 for the murder of three men in what was a very high profile trial lasting an unusual 100 days. ( Most trials in Japan are much shorter). The case was covered by all the major news outlets. It is also notable in that it is one of the first high visibility sentences that has been laid down by the new Japanese Lay Judge system-which was only adopted by Japan in 2009. Prior to that time, all trials were conducted by a panel of three judges from the Justice Ministry.
A Japanese "black widow" who killed three men after going out with them for their money has been sentenced to death.
Kanae Kijima, 37, was convicted of murdering the trio, aged 41, 53 and 80, whom she met through internet dating sites.
She was given her nickname after the black widow female spider that eats its partner after mating.
Kijima, who was a paid-for mistress in the past, killed the men by poisoning them with carbon monoxide by burning charcoal briquettes after giving them sleeping tablets.
Saitama district court heard how she had wanted to stop them from demanding back money she had taken from them over the course of brief relationships.
That she was found guilty is not suprising-Japan has a 99% conviction rate. That she was given the death penalty on evidence that was completely circumstantial is more than a little unusual. The police did not have any hard evidence connecting her to the murders. In a recent program on NHK , which we watched here in Germany-they analyzed how the Lay Judges came to their decision. Her tabloid history in the three years prior to the trial came back to haunt her.
Whatever Kijima lacked in looks-she evidently made up for in terms of sexual skill in the sack. Evidently she was something of a monster fuck-and made that clear to her lovers. She devolped a “fan club” of sorts during the trial :
Shukan Bunshun magazine, covering the trial, was struck by a bevy of "Kanae girls" in the audience. They were unabashed fans, admirers, disciples. How did this woman, 37 years old and not, by conventional standards, attractive either naturally or artificially, manage to draw into her web man after man — not just any men but rich men, men so enamored of her that they showered money on her? What did she have that less successful women lacked? Something, obviously. The fans came to learn, to observe, if possible to emulate — short of murder, hopefully. What they learned was that sexual uninhibitedness pays. Kijima's was total. Never mind my face, she seemed to say — take me as I am and you won't be sorry. Her victims were, of course, in the end, but the money they spent on her suggests at least short-term satisfaction.
As you might expect of the Tokyo Tabloids, they had a field day with Kijima’s story from the time she was arrested in 2009 and subsequently.
Shukan Jitsuwa pulls no punches in detailing her heavy-set appearance, commenting that her bra strap could be seen wedged into her back. Yet the trial has revealed some of her skillful techniques in manipulating men.
First, she would ask for financial support for the tuition at her cooking school. Then she would make an appeal to demonstrate her seriousness, such as, “I am not looking for a casual partner; I am looking for my future husband.”
“What I want to share with you are my thoughts about a physical relationship,” Kijima might continue. “I think it is natural that a man and woman engage in such without taking too much time if they find each other appealing.”
Basically, she would say she is readily available.
Through this approach, she handled Oide-san by telling him after only 10 days of being in contact: “We can go to a love hotel; I am ready to be pregnant.”
Shukan Jitsuwa presumes this to be a sales point, meaning that he could finish inside her.
Although found guilty of the three murders-she is supposedly linked to six more-which will make her chances of a successful appeal even more grim than they already are.
So much of internet dating, it would seem.