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Japan’s Hannibal Lecter ate human flesh to satiate sexual urges

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(FILES) This file photo taken on February 5, 1992 shows former Japanese student Issei Sagawa, known as the "Kobe Cannibal" for killing and then devouring a Dutch student in 1981, smiling and gesturing as he meets with an AFP journalist at his apartment in Yokohama. - Sagawa died at the age of 73 on November 24, 2022 his friend and brother said in a statement on December 2. (Photo by JUNJI KUROKAWA / AFP)

Issei Sagawa killed and ate his Dutch classmate in 1981 when he was studying for a doctorate in Paris.

PHOTO: AFP

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Any list of Japan’s most depraved criminals should include Issei Sagawa, who has been dubbed the “Kobe Cannibal” and Japan’s Hannibal Lecter after he rejoiced in killing and eating a woman in Paris.

A fictional character created by novelist Thomas Harris, Lecter is a serial killer who eats his victims and remains a respected forensic psychiatrist until his capture.

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