News On Japan

Japan police arrest woman, parents in beheading of man at hotel in Hokkaido entertainment district

SAPPORO, Jul 25 (AP) - Japanese police said they arrested a woman and her parents in a beheading case in a popular night entertainment district in Japan's northern city of Sapporo, where a headless man was found in a hotel room three weeks ago.

Hokkaido police on Japan’s northern main island said Tuesday they arrested Runa Tamura, 29, and her father Osamu Tamura, a 59-year-old psychiatrist, the day before on suspicion of conspiring in beheading the victim at a hotel room and relocating his severed head in the middle of the night between July 1 and July 2.

The head of the victim, Hitoshi Ura, 62, has been missing since then.

Police raided the suspects' home Tuesday and arrested the prime suspect's mother Hiroko Tamura, a 60-year-old parttime worker, on suspicion of conspiring with her family in transporting and keeping the head at home.

Police did not say exactly how the daughter and the father collaborated. Police are still investigating the motive and refused to say if the woman and the victim knew each other.

Police also noted that Runa is a possible mental patient. Media reports quoted neighbors as saying that she has had difficulty attending school and had been reclusive since childhood.

Kyodo News and other media reported the victim and another individual believed to be Runa Tamura checked into the hotel in the Susukino area known for short-stay “love hotels.” About three hours later only one of them was seen leaving, carrying a large suitcase. ...continue reading

Source: ANNnewsCH

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Rain affected parts of Japan on Tuesday morning as a low-pressure system and front moved through, bringing heavier downpours in some areas. Skies are expected to clear across much of the country this afternoon. However, yellow sand drifting in from the Asian continent is forecast to spread over a wide area, raising concerns over reduced visibility and worsening health conditions.

Japan's weather agency and the Cabinet Office issued a 'Hokkaido-Sanriku Offshore Subsequent Earthquake Advisory' after an earthquake measuring upper 5 on Japan's seismic intensity scale struck off Sanriku.

JR East has launched a preview version of its new online Shinkansen booking platform, JRE GO, promising reservations in as little as one minute and easier handling of sudden schedule changes.

A bear that had remained in a residential area in central Sendai since early Sunday morning was euthanized last night in an emergency cull. No injuries were reported.

Police investigating the death of an 11-year-old boy whose body was found in a forest in Kyoto Prefecture believe his father moved the remains between several locations over a number of days in an apparent attempt to conceal the crime.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

A fire broke out at a four-story apartment building in Okinawa City in the early hours of April 19th, leaving one person dead, with authorities suspecting the victim may be a man in his 70s who served as chairman of a local crime group.

A 37-year-old father arrested over the alleged abandonment of his son's body in a forest in Kyoto Prefecture may have contacted associates to say the child had gone missing before the boy's school informed the family, investigators said.

A 20-year-old university student has been arrested on suspicion of breaking into an apartment in Osaka and stealing cash, with police believing he played a key role in recruiting minors for illegal work schemes.

The annual spring garden party, held at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens in Tokyo, has once again drawn attention to a pressing issue facing Japan's Imperial Household: how to maintain the number of family members as it continues to decline whenever female royals marry.

Japan is often viewed abroad as a country with an unusually visible sexual culture, shaped by adult videos, erotic manga and a wide range of related subcultures. (Japanese Comedian Meshida)

A bear that had remained in a residential area in central Sendai since early Sunday morning was euthanized last night in an emergency cull. No injuries were reported.

The family of a man granted a retrial over a robbery-murder case in Shiga Prefecture has called for revisions to Japan's retrial system, saying he was wrongfully arrested despite having an alibi.

A former elementary school teacher who managed an online group of educators involved in covert filming and image sharing has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison, in a case that has also raised concerns at universities training future teachers.