Ringleader Admits Charges in Killing of Restaurant Owner and Wife

Jun 22, 2026 | News On Japan

TOKYO - The first trial of two men accused of killing restaurant owner Ryutaro Takarajima and his wife, Sachiko, began at the Tokyo District Court on June 22, with the 30-year-old defendant described as a directing figure admitting the charges, while the other defendant acknowledged involvement but argued that he was only an accessory.

Hikaru Sasaki, 30, and Ryoken Hirayama, 27, are accused of murdering Takarajima, then 55, and his wife Sachiko, then 56, by strangling them and other means at a vacant house in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward in April 2024, before abandoning their bodies in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture.

Five others, including the couple’s eldest daughter and a man who was in a common-law relationship with her, have also been indicted on murder charges in connection with the case.

At the opening hearing, Sasaki admitted the charges against him. Hirayama also acknowledged involvement in the incident but said, "I believe I was an accessory."

In their opening statement, prosecutors said Sasaki was instructed by the common-law husband of the couple’s eldest daughter to arrange those who would carry out the killings, and that Hirayama, after being consulted by Sasaki, arranged the perpetrators.

Defense lawyers for both men argued that their clients had merely followed instructions from the common-law husband.

Source: TBS

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