Missing Nurse Sent Message About Spending New Year’s Eve With Boyfriend

Jan 15, 2026 | News On Japan

HOKKAIDO, Jan 15, 2026 (News On Japan) - A woman’s body was discovered inside the wall of a restaurant in the town of Hidaka, Hokkaido, in a case that has led to the arrest of the restaurant’s owner, with new details emerging about the circumstances of the discovery and the relationship between the two.

The victim was identified as nurse Kudo No, whose body was found concealed inside the wall of a restaurant in Hokkaido, and it has newly come to light that she told relatives the day before she went missing that she planned to spend the next day with her boyfriend.

Police have arrested Matsukura Hiko, the man who runs the restaurant where the body was found, on suspicion of abandoning a corpse, and he has admitted to hiding the body inside the wall.

According to investigators, the body was concealed inside the wall of a storage area near a dart machine. A hole about 40 centimeters wide had been cut into the wall and was covered with a board-like material, and beyond it was a space roughly the size of one tatami mat, where Kudo’s body was discovered.

The cause of death is believed to be suffocation due to compression of the neck, and police estimate that death occurred around four to ten days before the body was found.

Attention is now focused on the relationship between Kudo and the suspect. Investigators say the two belonged to the same local association and had known each other through community activities, including gatherings held after local elections, during which they visited the suspect’s restaurant together.

Police also revealed that on December 30, Kudo told her grandmother that although she would say she was going to work, she actually planned to spend the day quietly with her boyfriend.

Security camera footage shows Kudo shopping near her home at around 4 p.m. on December 31, but she did not appear at her workplace on January 1, prompting relatives to file a missing person report. Authorities believe she became involved in the incident sometime after the evening of New Year’s Eve.

A former customer of the restaurant described Kudo as a regular who often drank and chatted cheerfully with Matsukura and other patrons, adding that the atmosphere was lively and friendly.

Police are continuing their investigation into the nature of the relationship between the two, the circumstances that led to the incident, and are also considering the possibility that Matsukura killed Kudo.

Previously: Restaurant Owner Arrested After Body Found Hidden in Wall

Source: FNN

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