UnitedHealthCare CEO shooting suspect Luigi Mangione weighed in earlier this year on Japan’s falling birth rate, calling for bans on maid cafés and adult toys to help reverse the country’s population decline.
Mangione is an Ivy League graduate from a wealthy family with no known history of violence, an unexpected profile for a person facing a murder charge in connection with the killing of Brian Thompson last week in Manhattan.
Police also found a handwritten document on the suspect, which they described as demonstrating “ill will toward corporate America.”
His social media presence has sparked significant interest. After his arrest, Mangione’s X (formerly Twitter) account swelled to nearly 300,000 followers. The hashtag “#FreeLuigi” began trending as some characterized him as a vigilante who took action against perceived injustices in the U.S. health care system.
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On X, he frequently wrote and shared posts about social issues both in the U.S. and abroad.
In April, Mangione shared a post on X outlining steps he believed Japan should take to reverse its demographic crisis.
The country faces an aging workforce and a plummeting fertility rate, which last year dropped to 1.2 births per woman—far below the 2.1 replacement level. The trend shows no sign of stopping, despite a slew of pro-natal policies introduced by the government over the years.
“[The] modern Japanese urban environment is an evolutionary mismatch for the human animal. The solution to falling birthrates isn’t immigration. It’s cultural,” Mangione wrote, adding that this solution should address human interaction, physical fitness, spirituality and sex.
Regarding sexuality, Mangione called for banning masturbation devices, specifically mentioning products sold at Don Quijote, a popular discount store chain known for its adult toy sections.
He also advocated replacing dining experiences that cater to solo customers, such as restaurants where orders are placed via vending machines (shokken) and conveyor belt sushi establishments. These should be replaced with settings that promote “actual human interaction with a waiter,” he said.
Mangione went on to prescribe athletics programs in schools in the place of “24/7 eSports cafés,” businesses where patrons play online games.
Maid cafés, themed restaurants where servers dressed as maids engage in polite, anime-inspired interactions, were also on his list. These venues, where “lonely salarymen pay young girls to dress as anime characters and perform anime dances for them,” are also not conducive to births, he argued.
As for spirituality and fitness, Mangione called for the revival of traditional Japanese activities such as onsen (hot springs), the Shinto religion and karate.
Newsweek reached out to the Japanese Embassy in the U.S. by email with a request for comment.
The 26-year-old is awaiting extradition to New York City, where he has been charged with second-degree murder. He is being held in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after being arrested at a McDonald’s there and charged with fraud and gun offenses.
Update 12/10/24, 1:39 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
