The body of a naked woman was found in her apartment in Tokyo's Nakano Ward on Wednesday night, police said, adding that she had been strangled to death.
At around 8 p.m., police received a call from the boss of Risa Kagaya, 25, who had failed to show up at the izakaya (Japanese pub) where she worked part time, Fuji TV reported. Her boss had gone to her apartment earlier but after receiving no response, he contacted police.
Police went to Kagaya's apartment at around 10 p.m. and found her body collapsed by the door. Her face was wrapped in a towel.
All doors and windows were locked in the second-floor apartment.
Other residents reported hearing loud noises and a woman crying out on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, media reported that Kagaya had been having trouble with a man about a month earlier and that police had been called to the apartment after a loud argument was heard in the middle of the night.
© Japan Today
40 Comments
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Disillusioned
Japan is a safe country - if you are middle aged man. However, if you are a woman or a child the murder statistics are compatible with other more famously violent countries. I hope they find this zoomer quickly.
HongoTAFEinmate
Although hesitant to get involved in domestics, let's hope Mr. Plod had the insight to get this chap's details, because in the suspect stakes, he is about to become No. 1 with a bullet.
WilliB
It does not take Sherlock Holmes to suspect a low-life ex boyfriend. I think they will catch him soon after asking around a bit.
and,
Disillusioned;
Do you have a source for that? I doubt it.
nakanoguy01
would a boss in any other country go to his/her employees house if they didn't show up for work?
Thunderbird2
I've seen this in Japanese films and TV, so perhaps they do.
MrBum
Depends on how close they are. I can see the boss of small place like an Izakaya becoming close with their employees, intimately or otherwise.
daito_hak
This is the third or fourth case of a woman murdered in the last three or four weeks. This is very troubling.
dcog9065
Very suspicious. The boss of a part-timer at an Izakaya went to her house and called the police after a single day of missed work?? I think he's the culprit
WilliB
daito_hak:
This is a country of 110 million people. In most countries this size, a single murder would not even make the national news.
Haaa Nemui
The police said she had been dead for between one and two days... that could be 2 shifts on different days. That said... it does seem a little odd but lets not get carried away huh?
Nessie
No contact from an employee? It wouldn't be unusual for a boss to send someone.
LFRAgain
Disillusioned,
Could you provide some data or statistical evidence to support this claim?
daito_hak
Non-sense! The number of people living in a country doesn't excuse the existence of murders. I am not comparing Japan to any other country (as you would have noticed if you wouldn't have rushed to your keyboard without reading properly my post), so the argument of 110 million people living in Japan doesn't hold water when we talk about why we are seeing almost every week (or at least on a regularly basis) on the news a murder of a woman (or any other type of homicide). My point is not how many, my point is why this violence.
And any country where even a single murder won't make it to the "national news" whatever the size of its population is a country that has a serious problem. We are not supposed to be savage and just ignore people killing each other because we are so many of us. This is non-sense argument
Noble713
@daito_hak
Some countries with large populations and much higher murder rates simply don't have enough time in the day to cover every homicide on national news without depressing the entire viewership, which is a quick way to tank their advertising revenue. People already complain about "If it bleeds it leads" and the undue focus on negative stories in modern journalism. No one wants to sit through an endless stream of obituaries. Brazil, for example, had 51,000 homicides in 2013, an average of 1 per 10 minutes. I peruse BestGore on occasion and even I don't wanna hear about a murder every 10 minutes.
gogogo
wow, very sad "other residents"
LFRAgain
WillB,
Japan has a population of 126 million, not 110. But I agree with you. Per capita, murder in Japan is relatively rare.
As for this poor woman, it's only a matter of time before they find the man she was arguing with. And I'll bet anyone he's the one who killed her. Jealous rage. Spurned lover. Unrequited affection: Take your pick from a long list of interpersonal relationship dysfunctions that seem to plague so many Japanese men of late and result in murder.
Bronco123
I wonder no one had the sense to call the police when they heard the cries of the young lady. A passive nation! Sad indeed.
hero77
Japan is a safe country - if you are middle aged man. However, if you are a woman or a child the murder statistics are compatible with other more famously violent countries. I hope they find this zoomer quickly.
1800YOULOSE
Kitty Genovese was not Japanese nor in Japan when she was killed. Yes, Japan is a passive country, but this situation hardly proves it. Few people anywhere call the police on neighbors just because they hear an argument or fighting. Unless they specifically hear something like "Put the knife down!" there is no way they are going to take the risk of having a neighbor angry at them over a false alarm. Even police are not always so understanding.
Growing up I heard lots of knock-down, drag-out fights around and even IN my house. Most times nobody called the cops. Few people do. And in fact, I don't even recommend it.
I wish more people would get to know their neighbors though. That way, they have a clue what is going on. If her neighbors knew she was having trouble with a guy, it could have saved her life. But the sad thing is, I bet even if her neighbors did try to get to know her, she would have sent them away. I have had lots of Japanese neighbors like that, including one whose kitten ran into my apartment, who could not even say "thank you" when I returned it. See also ran to her apartment at the sight of me. When I heard her and her boyfriend arguing violently, I did nothing.
nath
No. You should check your facts before you post stuff that is blatantly incorrect.
Wc626
. . .and later he'll turn himself in to the local koban, saying how stressed out he was. Or that he was in a drunken rage coupled with that stress.etc. etc.
nath
I cannot find statistics for 2014 or this year yet, but in 2008 there were only 11 homocides in Japan.
misunderstood
Check the disgruntled boyfriend I am sure he could take being turned down and he killed her.
Nobusaki
"Other residents reported hearing loud noises and a woman crying out on Tuesday night. "
Not to blame the residents but if you hear loud noises and a woman crying out loud, you should contact the police immediately. I know in my country (Canada) even the slightest hint of spousal/child abuse is reported to the police and investigators.
We look out for one another here.
I applaud the boss for his concern for his employee (could have been a long time worker/friend).
Wc626
This is called community policing. Something most japanese are unwilling to do because they don't want to get "involved" make a difference. Do anything-nothing in order to avoid confrontation.
No wonder why all those lawyers and so-called scholars are running their jibbs in protest of the security bills. What a circus!
hero77
Wc626, yet japan is still the safest country out there so there obviously doing something right
Kenny Iyekawa
"Other residents reported hearing loud noises and a woman crying out on Tuesday night."
Again, we Japanese just don't want to get involved. Pretty pathetic...could have saved the woman's life.
Tamarama
This is hard for me to fathom.
I wonder what these people feel now. Is it a mild surprise? A sense of knowing resignation? Disconnected indifference?
Having listened to it and chosen to do nothing, I know how I would bee feeling right now - and it would not be good.
Cortes Elijah
Can't help but laugh. "A poor young woman crying out" what does it matter what sex they are. Same goes for the "women and children" If I heard anyone screaming and crying near me, I would contact the authorities and try to assess the situation.
I've had neighbours in Australia who had fights sometimes, I once went around to the door and knocked. I camly said "Is everything okay? I was worried, I heard loud noises. Are you "both" okay?" Sometimes simply acting like you (don't know it's a domestic assault) and just being generally caring can calm the situation down... Give them time to breath (no pun intended).
All in all, this perp will most likely be found sooner or later due to the extensive cameras that are probably everywhere. I for one feel pretty safe in my area as my house has fully inclosed security walls with automatic doors and cameras... The thing that makes me feel the safest is the "old" man whom is my neighbour. He keeps an eye out like a hawk, and he could tell you what side a coin landed on if it feel. Good to know some neighbours still care.
Nessie
That can't possibly be right. Maybe that''s for gun homicides.
There were 1,097 murders in Japan in 2010. Even that's quite low.
LFRAgain
Cortes Elijah,
Bravo to you and your post. I agree wholeheartedly that it sometimes helps to simply give a damn about your neighbors.
My_Opinion
Seems these posts have gone from "A discussion about the crime" to "who has more facts and is smarter." A lady is dead, period. No need for statistics or to prove who has more facts here. Every life IS valuable, every person killed had a name, a family. THAT should be the focus. They are not just a number on a chart.
DaDude
If your sole news source is this website and the rest the of World does not exist, Japan is a war zone.
1800YOULOSE
I am not remotely in the camp of "Japan is actually as dangerous as anywhere else" camp, but, there are deaths that are pretty freaking obviously murders that get labeled as "unknown" or "accidental" or "suicide". I know of one case where a little boy went missing in the day, only to be found the next day in pieces on the train tracks. I don't think that made national headlines, and I think the police proved themselves useless and self serving on that and many cases.
If this woman's killer had made even the most rudimentary attempts to make it look like a suicide, I have little doubt the police would have been happy to label it as such. He strangled her, so if he then tied some cloth to a doorknob and stuck her neck in, then used a spare key to lock the door, I have no doubt this would be another unreported suicide.
So, I do think the statistics are padded a bit, but it can't be all that much.
Tandoorinacho
Back@home
Errrr.... What ???
John-San
A izakaya would be busy at 7.00pm and the boss leaves making the shift two worker short. Then call the Police because a part time worker blows her shift and was not at home. Sound suspect to me.
cleo
The article says Her boss had gone to her apartment earlier, there's no mention of 7pm.
According to this - http://www.businessinsider.com/why-japans-murder-rate-is-so-low-2014-4 - those were gun-related homicides. The graph on that page also shows that Japan has a murder rate that is not only low compared to other countries, but one that has been steadily falling since the 1950s.
Serrano
"The body of a naked woman was found in her apartment in Tokyo’s Nakano Ward on Wednesday night... Other residents reported hearing loud noises and a woman crying out on Tuesday night. "
Why didn't the police come Tuesday night?
Skeeter27
Ok here is a link with statistical data reported by the Japanese police.
We can see not only the number of murders by perfecture but if you fallow other info the total reported number of crimes...
http://nbakki.hatenablog.com/entry/2013/12/03/000000
Well over a 100 murbers! And that is in Tokyo and Osaka with a total of 232 murders in 2012!!!