Japan's only suspect in the killing of a British woman who was arrested after more than two years on the run has stayed silent during initial questioning, police said Wednesday. Tatsuya Ichihashi, 30, who underwent plastic surgery during his life as a fugitive, was arrested Tuesday in connection with the death of 22-year-old British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker in early 2007.

"We started a full-fledged interrogation of the suspect today," said a spokesman for the Gyotoku Police Department in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo, where the investigation headquarters have been set up. "The suspect has remained silent about the case after he initially told us he has nothing to say," the spokesman told AFP.