News On Japan

Chiba police accuse man of dumping body of wife

Nov 16 (tokyoreporter.com) - A 47-year-old man in custody in connection with the disappearance of his wife earlier this year has been further accused of dumping her body, police have revealed, reports TBS News (Nov. 14).

On November 13, police accused Akira Ono, a company employee, of abandoning the body of his wife, 32-year-old Rina.

Police believe that Ono transported the body of his wife from Chiba Prefecture to a beach at Ibaraki Prefecture on March 6 and 7.

In contradicting previous statements, Ono denies the allegations. “I didn’t abandon [her body],” the suspect was quoted by police.

Rina’s whereabouts became unknown after she left her company in Narita on March 6. her family reported her missing with police three days later. Thereafter, investigators found her vehicle parked at a park in Narita.

In October, police first arrested Ono for fraudulently using his wife’s name for the registration document for a vehicle he purchased for himself in January.

During questioning, Ono said, “I stabbed her in my car and buried her at the beach,” police quoted the suspect.

The beach is in Hokota City, Ibaraki. Investigators used dogs and excavation equipment to search a more than 15-kilometer-long stretch of beach between Hokota and Kashima cities over 67 days between June and October. However, a body has not been found, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (Nov. 15).

Last week, police also revealed that security camera footage showed Ono to have used one of the vehicles to travel between Narita and the Hokota area on the night Rina disappeared.

Ono, a resident of Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, and Rina have been separated for more than two years. She lives in Inzai City, Chiba.

The couple has one child. When Rina disappeared, she and Ono were believed to have been fighting over custody of the child.

During a search of his residence, police found Rina’s driver’s license, a knife and hair smeared with blood later confirmed to be hers.

The couple have a total of three vehicles. Stains of Rina’s blood were found inside one of them. Police also found signs of blood having been wiped up.

Prior to Ono’s first arrest, he told police under voluntary questioning, “I thought that I [would have custody of] my child if my wife were gone. I wanted to talk [to her] about custody.”

Source: ANNnewsCH

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

A special session of the Diet convened on October 21st, where Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president Takeuchi is expected to be chosen as Japan’s next prime minister in the afternoon’s leadership vote. Following a coalition agreement reached on October 20th between the LDP and Nippon Ishin no Kai, Takeuchi’s appointment is now virtually certain, paving the way for her to become the first woman in Japan’s constitutional history to lead the government.

Typhoon No. 24 (Fung-shen) is strengthening over the South China Sea and is expected to make landfall in Vietnam later this week, according to forecasts. Satellite images on October 201st show extensive cloud coverage over the central South China Sea. After passing over the Philippines, Fung-shen temporarily weakened but is projected to intensify again as it continues westward through Tuesday.

Kyoto’s world-famous Arashiyama district, a popular destination for both domestic and international tourists, is facing a growing problem of graffiti etched into the bamboo along its iconic “Bamboo Grove Path,” with more than 350 stalks now damaged — a practice that experts warn could eventually cause bamboo to weaken, fall, and even injure visitors.

Japan’s streaming industry is under growing pressure as foreign giants tighten their grip on the domestic market, with Netflix’s latest move to secure exclusive broadcast rights in Japan for every game of the World Baseball Classic next March highlighting the widening gap.

Investigators from the Immigration Services Agency conducted on-site inspections in Osaka on October 14th amid a surge in so-called 'paper companies' created by foreign nationals seeking residency.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

The October issue of the long-established American lifestyle magazine Town & Country features Mako Komuro, the eldest daughter of the Akishino family, on the cover under the headline "Princess Ingognito," dedicating a six-page spread to Komuro and her husband Kei, exploring their life in the United States.

Police have arrested a former host and several associates for allegedly coercing female customers into sex work after exploiting their romantic feelings and saddling them with massive debts.

A violent attack early on October 20th in Ibaraki Town, Ibaraki Prefecture left one man dead and another injured after they were stabbed with what appeared to be a bladed weapon inside an apartment. Police are investigating the case as a murder.

A woman in her 40s suffered a serious injury after being trapped in a mechanical parking system in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward on October 19th.

A former pet shop owner convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting several female employees and sentenced to 30 years in prison appealed his case at the Fukuoka High Court on October 14th, again claiming that the acts were consensual.

The relocation of Arimasu Tobiru, a distinctive architectural landmark on Hijirizaka in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, was carried out between August and October after nearly two decades of construction.

A Brazilian man has been arrested and indicted for smuggling cocaine into Japan by swallowing the drugs and concealing them inside his body.

Prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for a man accused of killing three family members and seriously injuring another with a crossbow in 2020 in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture.