News On Japan
Society

Ibaraki: Corpse found buried confirmed as belonging to missing university student

Feb 02, 2019 | News On Japan

Feb 02, 2019 (tokyoreporter.com) - A body found buried in a field in Kamisu City earlier this week belongs to a missing female university student, police said Thursday, reports NHK (Feb. 1).

Using fingerprint information, Tokyo Metropolitan Police confirmed the body is that of Natsumi Kikuchi, a 19-year-old resident of Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward who went missing last year.

Also on Thursday, police arrested Koichi Hirose, 35, of no known occupation, after he admitted to burying the body in the field near the coast — about 13 kilometers from his residence in Kamisu — during questioning.

On Friday, police sent Hirose to prosecutors on suspicion of abandoning a corpse.

Hirose has also confessed to killing Kikuchi. “I killed the girl I met on [an internet] bulletin board site after she started getting noisy,” the suspect told police. “I then buried her body.” He also said that the killing took place inside his vehicle.

On November 20, Kikuchi went by train from JR Ayase Station to Kamisu after attending class at her university in the capital.

After exiting JR Kashimajingu Station, Kikuchi boarded a taxi for a convenience store nearby. She then went in the direction of the residence of the man who began undergoing questioning on Saturday, police said previously.

At around 11:00 p.m. that night, Kikuchi last exchanged messages with family and friends on her smartphone via the application Line. Her family reported her missing with the Ayase Police Station on November 22.

Second arrest

Police took Hirose in for voluntary questioning beginning on January 24. During the conversations, he said that he did meet her in front of his residence. “But she left immediately. I don’t know where she went,” he told police.

Hirose later changed his story. He also said that he threw Kikuchi’s phone into a river.

The arrest is the second for Hirose. In April, 2017, Ibaraki police arrested him for paying an underage girl he met via a social-networking service to perform acts deemed obscene. The suspect was accused of violating the anti-child prostitution law. It is not known whether he was convicted.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Martinelli Breaks Japan Hearts as Brazil Win 2-1 in World Cup Thriller

Japan’s World Cup campaign ended in the cruelest possible fashion on June 29, as Gabriel Martinelli scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to give Brazil a 2-1 victory over the Samurai Blue in their knockout match in Houston. Japan had led in the first half and were still level at 1-1 in the final moments, but Martinelli’s late strike sent Brazil into the Round of 16 and eliminated Japan from the tournament.

Strong Quakes Strike Japan 11 Times Since April

Strong earthquakes have continued to shake parts of Japan in recent weeks, with 11 temblors measuring lower 5 or above on the Japanese seismic intensity scale recorded across the country since April 2026.

First Train of the Day Derails at Kintetsu Kyoto Station

A Kintetsu Railway train derailed inside Kyoto Station on the morning of June 29, forcing partial suspensions on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line for the rest of the day and causing long delays that hit commuters, students and tourists.

Hikone Castle Stone Wall Collapses After Typhoon Deluge

A section of stone wall at Hikone Castle, one of Japan’s few surviving original Edo-period castles and a National Treasure whose main keep remains intact more than 400 years after its construction, collapsed after heavy rain caused by Typhoons No. 7 and No. 8, Hikone city officials said.

Japan Books Spot in World Cup Knockout Stage After Sweden Draw

Japan advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup after a 1-1 draw with Sweden on June 25, finishing second in Group F and setting up a Round of 32 clash with Brazil in Houston.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         
MORE Society NEWS

Yakuza Boss Denies Killing Gyoza President

Prosecutors sought life imprisonment for Yukio Tanaka, a senior member of a gang affiliated with the Kudo-kai crime syndicate, as his trial over the 2013 fatal shooting of Osho Food Service president Takayuki Ohigashi concluded at the Kyoto District Court, with a verdict scheduled to be handed down on October 16.

Police Set Up Kabukicho Council To Protect Toyoko Kids

Shinjuku Ward, the Tokyo metropolitan government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department have jointly established a Kabukicho measures council to strengthen efforts to prevent young people known as "Toyoko Kids" from being drawn into crime in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district.

Chinese Man Arrested After Speeding Porsche Hits Two Cars In Tokyo

A 23-year-old Chinese man has been arrested and sent to prosecutors on suspicion of dangerous driving resulting in injury after allegedly crashing a Porsche into two vehicles at an intersection in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward on June 9, leaving three people with minor injuries.

17,345 People With Dementia Go Missing in Japan Last Year

The number of people with dementia or suspected dementia who were reported missing to police totaled 17,345 in 2025, down by nearly 800 from the previous year but still at a high level, according to a National Police Agency summary.

Mystery 300-Ton Giant Hose Removal Begins Six Months After Washing Ashore

Removal work has finally begun on a massive hose that washed ashore on the coast of Shika, Ishikawa Prefecture, six months ago, but crews are already facing difficulties because the structure is filled with a large volume of water.

Ex-Wife Arrested After Leaving Husband’s Body in Freezer for 14 Years

A 50-year-old woman has been arrested in Kobe on suspicion of abandoning the dismembered body of her former husband in a large freezer at a condominium unit, where she allegedly continued paying rent for more than 14 years while hiding his death.

Wanted Yakuza Arrested in 2017 Kobe Gangland Killing

A 50-year-old member of an organization affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate has been arrested in Yamaguchi Prefecture after nearly nine years on the run over the 2017 fatal shooting of a bodyguard for the leader of a rival group in Kobe.

Iranian Man Busted Smuggling 40kg Stimulants in Naan Machine

An Iranian national has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to smuggle more than 40 kilograms of stimulants from the United Arab Emirates into Japan in March, after customs officers found the drugs hidden in the bottom section of a machine used in the process of making naan bread.