crime

Honeymooner shot in Ecuador returns to Japan

18 Comments

A woman who was shot along with her husband while on their honeymoon in Ecuador returned to Japan on Saturday morning.

Japanese TV media showed Mariko Hitomi, 27, in the arrival lobby at Narita airport. She was in a wheelchair, with her right leg heavily bandaged.

Mariko's husband Tetsuo, 28, was fatally shot by an armed gang on Dec 28 when the couple took a taxi back to their hotel in Guayaquil. Mariko was shot in the stomach and leg. The couple, who were married in Japan on Dec 22, had been en route to the Galapagos Islands. The taxi driver, who has not been found, is believed to be one of the gang. Police said that many taxi drivers in the city belong to gangs and use their taxis to lure tourists to spots where they can be ambushed.

The ashes of Tetsuo were brought home on Jan 6 by his parents.

Mariko did not speak to reporters at Narita but her father said she is still traumatized and asked journalists to give the family some privacy. They returned home to Kanazawa City on Saturday afternoon.

The Ecuadorean government has offered a reward the equivalent of $200,000 for information leading to the arrest of the killers. Last Monday, Interior Minister Jose Serrano told a news conference that police are close to identifying the suspects after examining surveillance camera footage and speaking with witnesses. However, there has been no progress made since then.

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18 Comments
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This is very sad, and I hope this never happens again. RIP Tetsuo and do hope his wife, now widow, can get over this terrible tragdedy down in Ecuador.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Terribly, terribly tragic. I truly hope that the media gives this woman the privacy she deserves, for the rest of her life.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

So many things ruined in an instant by a gang of worthless low-lifes!

@Elbuda there is no such thing like "getting over the loss of your partner"! Not in one year, not in 10 years, not ever!

3 ( +8 / -6 )

As a half Ecuadorian, this really upsets me. I hope that Tetsuo may rest in peace and Mariko has the strength to move on.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Thanks CGB, i think we all know that but wst do you want this woman to do?? To end up taking her own life?? Or to at leat try and regain some sense of normality in her life?? I hope and pray she can move on. Life is too short to be bitter and grumpy!!

3 ( +7 / -4 )

@CGB thanks for your comment the words from EM never come out right this isnt the first time and surely not the last

-8 ( +1 / -9 )

Very sad.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

How awful for the poor woman - arrives home after a massively traumatic event and is hounded by press at the airport.

I sincerely hope the media take her fathers advice and leave her alone, she needs time to grieve without it being splashed all over the news.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

May Mariko find some comfort and deal with her loss. Past time the police crack down on unlicensed public transport. Third world countries want worldwide recognition but fail to see that the need for law and order is a necessity to have a successful tourist trade. Corruption has to be dealt with as much as possible to keep crime to a minimum.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

@Elbuda no, but people are ofte quick to assume somebody can move on or get over such a loss. It's not the case. But I don't blame you. After all, somebody who hasn't experienced such a loss first hand cannot understand what it means.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Thailand probably better choice then Ecuador or Venezuela for honeymoon vacation.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

But I don't blame you. After all, somebody who hasn't experienced such a loss first hand cannot understand what it means.

How do you know what losses Elbuda Mexiano has or hasn't suffered? Why don't you try to stop being so pompous and presumptuous.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

After all, somebody who hasn't experienced such a loss first hand cannot understand what it means.

CGB Spender, and nobody can understand what it means for another to experience it. We all react differently. But there is a marked desire among some to make the worst case scenario out to be the norm for us all. Its not the case. And there is no reason to try and destroy hope, not unless one's own misery is desirous of company.

I also hope Ms. Hitomi will recover mentally and physically. Is it so bad to hope?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Spender, if you're speaking from personal experience, I'm deeply sorry for your loss. But at the same time I think you're being unduly harsh and unfair to our amigo Elbuda. It is perfectly clear from his first post exactly what he meant, which is NOT that Mariko forget the tragedy, but that she somehow musters the strength to live with the hole in her heart and find happiness with another man at some point in her future (nobody mentioned anything about "quickly").

Finally, just because you may be grieving does not make it all right for you to assume certain things about people you've never met. For all you know, Elbuda may have suffered losses outweighing your very own.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

By the way, my dad was a taxi driver south of the border (Mexico) and he told me plenty of horror stories, many of my father's friends were killed, robbed, tortured etc...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Well, thanks ben4short. But as you guessed right as somebody with own first hand experience I know there is no comparison. It's not possible to compare the loss of your life partner with any other kind of loss. When I see people saying that somebody has to get over it, it is clear that they have no such experience. This is something you will not understand until you've made that experience. It's not an insult or smart-a$$ing. It is a very clear and profound realization that only people understand who've made that experience.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Thailand probably better choice then Ecuador or Venezuela for honeymoon vacation.

Ecuador is nothing like Venezuela in terms of danger levels. Guayaquil, even being Ecuador´s most dangerous city, has a lower crime rate than all of Venezuela and that´s to say nothing about the most dangerous cities in Venezuela.Yes, you should be cautious in big cities in Ecuador and yes, Ecuador does have a high crime rate compared to many countries, but it´s very rare that foreigners in Ecuador get targeted for anything other than pickpocketing, robbery, and Eve-teasing. The vast majority of the bad crimes that happen in Guayaquil are Ecuadorians versus other Ecuadorians. Generally the country welcomes foreigners, especially tourists. It´s very unfortunate what happened to this couple and I certainly think calling for a taxi rather than taking one off the street is a very good idea, but what happened to them is not the norm in Ecuador.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I can't believe the press would actually jump her on the airport as she arrived.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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