The Sagamihara stabbings were committed on 26 July 2016 in Midori Ward, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan. Nineteen people were killed and twenty-six others were injured, thirteen severely, at a care home for disabled people. The crimes were committed by a 26-year-old man, identified as Satoshi Uematsu (植松 聖, Uematsu Satoshi), a former employee of the care facility. Uematsu surrendered at a nearby police station with a bag of knives and was arrested.
Justin McCurry of The Guardian described the attack as one of the worst crimes committed on Japanese soil in modern history. Uematsu was sentenced to death on 16 March 2020, after the prosecution sought the maximum penalty for murder in his trial; as of July 2022, he was on death row awaiting execution. It was the deadliest mass stabbing in Japan in decades.
Tsukui Lily Garden (津久井やまゆり園, Tsukui Yamayuri En) is a residential care center run by Kanagawa Kyodokai (社会福祉法人かながわ共同会, Shakai Fukushi Hōjin Kanagawa Kyōdōkai), a social welfare organization. Established by the local government, the facility was built in a 30,890 square metres (7.63 acres) area of woodland on the bank of the Sagami River. As of April 2016, the facility housed 149 residents between the ages of 19 and 75, all of whom had an intellectual disability but many with various physical disabilities as well. Some were capable of engaging in physical activities outdoors, while others were bedridden. The facility was located in a remote location about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from Sagamiko Station on the Chūō Main Line.
About two hours before the incident, Satoshi Uematsu wore a suit and took a selfie in his car. He changed into a cap, dark pants, and a T-shirt. He drove to the care centre and parked his car at a nearby road at 01:37. He went to the back of his car to remove a bag containing five knives, a hammer, and cable ties from the trunk.
At about 01:43, Satoshi Uematsu used a hammer to break into the care centre through a glass window on the first floor, entering the Hana Home, one of the female wards. In the Hana Home, Uematsu kneeled down to remove several items from his bag. A female staff member noticed him and called out to him. Uematsu approached the woman, tied her up with cable ties, and forced her to walk with him to each residential room. In each room, he would ask her if the victim could speak. Uematsu would proceed to stab the victims who were incapable of speech. He would stab them in their chest and torsos as they slept while making derogatory statements about them. While stabbing one of the victims in the back, he accidentally broke off the tip of his blade. Uematsu replaced the knife with another. Uematsu tied the staff member's thumbs together and tied her to a handrail in the hallway. He gagged her with duct tape and stole her keys before moving on to the next home, the Niji Home. Uematsu killed five people and injured two at the Hana Home.
At the Niji Home, Uematsu approached the female staff member on duty and ordered her to show her thumbs. The woman fought back and was injured in the struggle. Uematsu threatened her before tying her up with the cable ties. He walked her around to each room and asked her if the occupant could speak. The staff member lied to him to save more lives. However, Uematsu grew suspicious and decided to test each resident's reaction by telling them "good morning". If he believed they were incapable of speech, he stabbed them. While stabbing one of the victims in the home, he bent and broke his second knife due to the blade hitting the ribcage. Uematsu replaced the knife again and started aiming for the neck areas of his future victims. Uematsu tied up the staff member and moved on to the Tsubasa Home, a male ward. Uematsu killed five people and injured one in the Niji Home.
At 02:17, Uematsu unlocked the door to the corridor connecting the Niji Home and the Tsubasa Home. As he approached the Tsubasa home, Uematsu encountered a male staff member who previously worked with him. Uematsu tied the staff member to a handrail of the hallway and taunted him. Uematsu then asked the man about the occupants of each room and also made a remark about looking for an aggressive occupant they both took care of. As Uematsu was stabbing people, the staff member took out his cell phone and tried texting his colleague to call the police. At some point, he dropped the cell phone. The staff member tried sending more messages by typing with his toes after kicking off his shoes and socks. The colleague receiving the messages eventually understood something was wrong and made the first call to police at 02:38. Eventually, Uematsu moved on to the Minori Home. He killed two people and injured two in the Tsubasa Home.
At the Minori Home, Uematsu tied a male staff member to a handrail before and stabbed the occupants. He entered an office used a computer to check the names of the employees who were on night shift to make sure none of them were strong enough to overpower him. Uematsu left the office and took the stairs to the second floor. Uematsu injured seven people in the Minori Home.
As Uematsu entered the second floor, he walked through the Subaru Home. He opened the door to the Ibuki Home and tied a male staff member to a railing. He also confiscated the employee's cell phone. Uematsu asked the employee about the occupants of each room before stabbing them. Uematsu walked back to the Subaru Home. In the Ibuki Home, he killed four people and injured eleven.
In the Subaru Home, Uematsu approached a male staff member working on a computer in the office. The staff member noticed Uematsu carrying a bloody knife and ran. Uematsu chased him to an empty room while telling him to stay calm and not to worry. The staff member held the door shut to prevent Uematsu from entering. Uematsu tried to open the door while telling the employee that "it's okay". He eventually gave up and started stabbing the occupants in the other rooms. The employee called the police at 02:45. In the Subaru Home, Uematsu killed three and wounded one. After stabbing the occupants, Uematsu left the care center through the main doors. He was recorded leaving the centre at 02:48.
Police were called to the care center by staff members at around 02:30, reporting a man with a knife breaking into the building. However, Uematsu left the premises before being apprehended; he was recorded re-entering his car at 02:50 in security camera footage. At 02:50, Uematsu posted a tweet on his Twitter account showing the selfie he took with the suit on. He added the caption: "世界が平和になりますように。 beautiful Japan!!!!!!" (May the world be at peace. Beautiful Japan!!!!!!")
Armed police entered the building at around 03:00 where they discovered the crime scene. Twenty-nine ambulances were sent to the facility. The suspect turned himself in at the Tsukui Police Station at 03:05 with the bag containing kitchen knives and other bloodstained sharp tools. A knife was reportedly found in his car outside the police station. Two knives were also recovered in the facility.
Uematsu killed ten women and nine men aged between 18 and 70. He also attacked 26 other people, 13 of which were severely injured. Most of the victims were stabbed in the neck.
Satoshi Uematsu (植松 聖, Uematsu Satoshi) (born 20 January 1990), a 26-year-old man, used to work at the care home Tsukui Yamayuri En. His father was an elementary school art teacher from Tokyo, and Uematsu had trained and worked as an elementary school teacher as well. His mother was a manga artist. Uematsu was born in the Tokyo suburb of Hino in a small section of town called Tamadaira, but moved with his parents to Sagamihara after his first birthday in January 1991. He had lived in his house with his parents, but after Uematsu graduated from Teikyo University in March 2012, his parents moved to an apartment in Hachiōji, leaving Uematsu abandoned for unknown reasons. He resigned from working at the facility in February 2016 after having been employed there for over three years (since part-time on 12 December 2012 and full-time on 1 April 2013).