Man in custody for dumping woman’s corpse to also be accused of rape

Jan 06, 2021 | News On Japan

Jan 06, 2021 (tokyoreporter.com) - A 29-year-old man in custody for allegedly dumping the body of a woman in Tochigi Prefecture last year is expected to also be accused of raping the victim, police have revealed, reports TBS News (Jan. 6).

On Wednesday, police plan to accuse Yoshito Sato, a nursery school teacher, of sexually assaulting Saori Tomitsuka, a 35-year-old contract employee, last year.

“I thought it was fine to rape her if I killed her,” Sato was quoted by police.

“I strangled her with a rope in killing her”

Last month, police accused Sato of dumping the body of Tomitsuka on the grounds of a villa in the town of Nasu.

“I broke into [her] residence to steal money,” Sato told police previously. “When she resisted, I strangled her with a rope in killing her.”

The cause of death of Tomitsuka was suffocation caused by pressure applied to the neck, police said previously.

Tomitsuka, who lived in Toshima Ward in the capital, went missing on September 24. Sato lives about 600 meters from her residence.

Police investigating her disappearance found her mobile telephone near her residence. An examination of security camera footage by police showed a person believed to be Sato following Tomitsuka around the time she disappeared.

On December 5, police took Sato in for voluntary questioning. During the session, he divulged the location of her body.

Police later found her unclothed body on the property of the villa. It is believed that Sato used his vehicle to transport Tomitsuka’s body to Nasu after he killed her.

Source: ANNnewsCH

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.