policy of self-imposed restrictions on these films and whether they should allow them just because they are profitable." In 2000, Japan's bicameral legislature lowered the age for criminal responsibility from 16 to 14. However, in the wake of the June1, 2004 murder of Satomi Mitarai by 11-year-old "GirlA" (Sasebo slashing), there has been some discussion for the need for further revision. On March11, 2004, in an unprecedented act, the Japanese Ministry of Justice announced that Sakakibara, 21 at the time, was being released on a provisional basis, with a full release to follow on January 1,2005. Critics have charged that since the government had taken the unusual step of notifying the public, that Sakakibara was likely not fit for release and should be transferred to prison. In the wake of the Sasebo slashing, three months later, this criticism was exacerbated. Due to the seriousness of the crimes and the fact that they had been committed by a minor, his name and new residence to this day remain a highly guarded secret. Nonetheless, his real name has been circulated on the internet since June29, 1997, according to journalist Fumihiko Takayama. A number of people, including Shōjirō Gotō (a lawyer who dealt with many false accusation cases), Hidehiko Kumagai, and Nobuyoshi Iwata (former principal of the junior high school that BoyA attended), insist that BoyA was wrongfully accused and point out contradictions in the statements of the investigating authorities. Some examples: Police investigators said that one of the murders was made by a left-handed BoyA is right-handed. BoyA's confession contained many absurd statements and claims of things that would be impossible for a 14-year-old to do. BoyA had bad grades, and yet his confession was complex (if cryptic) and contained many elaborate figures of speech and similes. In 2002, the boy's mother visited him in prison and asked him if he had really committed the crimes. He affirmed this to her. In June 2015, Sakakibara, then aged 32, released an autobiography through Ohta Publishing titled Zekka (絶歌), in which he claimed to express regret for his crimes and recounted the murders in graphic detail. Despite attempts by Jun Hase's family to block the release of Zekka, and despite one bookstore chain refusing to stock the book, it quickly reached the top of Japanese bestseller lists. A few months later, Sakakibara set up a vanity website in which he posted bizarre photoshopped images