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Father of Japanese victim heads to S Korea to see his daughter's body

Oct 31 (Japan Today) - The father of Mei Tomikawa, one of the two Japanese victims of a deadly crush in Seoul, left for South Korea on Monday.

Ayumu Tomikawa, a member of a local assembly in Hokkaido, northern Japan, told reporters in front of his house in Nemuro he wants to see his 26-year-old daughter's body "as soon as possible."

The crush on Saturday night during Halloween festivities in the Itaewon district, a popular nightlife district in Seoul, left 154 people dead and around 150 injured, South Korean authorities said.

According to her father, Mei had been studying Korean in Seoul since June. She had hoped to find a job related to both Japan and South Korea.

She was apparently enjoying her studies in South Korea and was making friends from other countries, her father said. He last communicated with his daughter around 7 p.m. Saturday when she said she was going out with a French friend.

The other Japanese victim was an 18-year-old woman believed to have traveled to South Korea to study, according to a South Korean source. ...continue reading

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