Junko Furuta (Japanese: 古田 順子, Hepburn: Furuta Junko, 18 January 1971 – 4 January 1989) was a 17-year-old Japanese high school student who was abducted, raped, tortured, and murdered. Her abuse was mainly perpetrated by four male teenagers, Hiroshi Miyano (18), Jō Ogura (17), Shinji Minato (16), and Yasushi Watanabe (17), and took place over a 40-day period starting on 25 November 1988. In Japan, the case is known as the "concrete-encased high school girl murder case" (女子高生コンクリート詰め殺人事件, joshikōsei konkurīto-zume satsujin jiken), as her body was discovered inside of a concrete-filled drum. The prison sentences served by the perpetrators ranged from 7 to 20 years. The brutality of the case shocked Japan, and it is said to be the worst case of juvenile criminality in the country's post-war history.
Background

Furuta was born on 18 January 1971 and grew up in Misato, Saitama Prefecture, where she lived with her parents, older brother, and younger brother. At the time of her murder, she was a 17-year-old senior at Yashio-Minami High School, and worked a part-time job at a plastic molding factory from October 1988 to save up money for a planned graduation trip. Furuta also accepted a job at an electronics retailer, where she planned on working after graduation. Furuta was well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and had high grades and infrequent absences. According to her friends, she dreamed of becoming an idol singer.

The perpetrators of the crime were four male teenagers: Hiroshi Miyano (宮野裕史, Miyano Hiroshi, 18 years old), Jō Ogura (小倉譲, Ogura Jō, 17), Shinji Minato (湊伸治, Minato Shinji, 16), and Yasushi Watanabe (渡邊恭史, Watanabe Yasushi, 17), who in court documents were referred to as "A", "B", "C", and "D", respectively. Two others, Tetsuo Nakamura and Koichi Ihara, were referred to as "G" and "L".

The four members of the group had all dropped out of high school in the summer of 1988, and became involved in organized crime as chinpira (low-ranking yakuza). They began using Minato's family home in Adachi, Tokyo, as a hangout. Beginning in October, they engaged in various crimes including theft (purse snatching and car theft), assault, and rape. On November 8, the group abducted a 19-year-old woman in Adachi and gang raped her in a hotel there. On 27 December, during Furuta's confinement, the group abducted another 19-year-old woman in Adachi and gang-raped her in a motel.