ability and obsessive interests, Girl A was diagnosed after the murder with Asperger syndrome. Reaction The killing provoked a debate in Japan whether the age of criminal responsibility, lowered from 16 to 14 in 2000 due to the 1997 Kobe child murders, needed to be lowered again. Girl A was considered to be a normal and well-adjusted child before the incident, which made the public more anxious. Members of the Japanese Diet, such as Kiichi Inoue and Sadakazu Tanigaki, came under criticism for comments made in the wake of the killing. Inoue was criticized for referring to Girl A as genki (vigorous, lively), a word with positive connotations. Tanigaki was criticized for referring to the method of killing, slitting of the throat, as a "manly" act. Girl A became the subject of an Internet meme on Japanese web communities such as 2channel. She was nicknamed "Nevada-tan" because a class photograph showed a girl believed to be her wearing a University of Nevada, Reno sweatshirt, "-tan" being a childlike pronunciation of the Japanese honorific suffix "-chan," generally used to refer to young girls. Akio Mori cited this case in support of his controversial "game brain" theory, which has been criticized as being nothing more than superstition. Girl A was reported to be a fan of the death-themed flash animation "Red Room", a claim used in support of the theory. It was also known that Girl A had read the controversial novel Battle Royale and had seen its film adaptation, which centers on young students fighting to the death. At the March 18, 2005 Okubo Elementary graduation, students were given a graduation album with a blank page in honor of Mitarai's death on which they could put pictures of Mitarai, Girl A, or class pictures containing both girls. Mitarai was posthumously awarded a graduation certificate, which her father accepted on her behalf. Girl A was also awarded a certificate, as one is required in Japan in order to enter junior high school and the school believed it would aid her "reintegration into society". See also Sasebo schoolgirl murder, a 2014 murder in Sasebo. References External links "Japan schoolgirl killer 'sorry – BBC News, June 3, 2004 "現代リスクの基礎知識 第62回〜長崎佐世保女児同級生殺害事件" – Nikkei Business Publications June 10, 2004 article on the murder 2004 murders in Japan Murder committed by minors Sasebo June 2004 events in Japan Incidents of violence against girls