A 42-year-old man arrested over the fatal stabbing of a young woman while she was livestreaming on a Tokyo street said he wanted the world to know she had failed to repay debts to him, investigative sources said Friday.
The statement by the suspect, Kenichi Takano, came after he was arrested Tuesday over the killing of 22-year-old Airi Sato in a residential area of Shinjuku, one of Tokyo's busiest wards. He claimed she owed him over 2 million yen.
"I thought the world would know what she had done if I created an incident and a trial was held," he was quoted as telling investigators, the sources said.
Takano said that he had taken out 1 million yen in loans from two consumer credit companies to lend Sato, the sources said. He was sent to prosecutors Thursday on a charge of murder.
During a search of his home in Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, police seized more than 10 receipts for bank transfers, some of which were to Sato.
Takano approached Sato while she was walking alone and started stabbing her without saying a word, the sources said. In all, he inflicted more than 30 injuries including fatal wounds to her neck and chest, according to the police.
Takano first learned of Sato through her streams in February 2021. Around August 2022, he began frequenting her workplace and later started lending her money after she claimed to be struggling to pay her living expenses, the sources said.
After losing contact with Sato around January to February 2023, Takano sued Sato that August over the unreturned money. A court then ordered her to pay 2.5 million yen to Takano, the sources said.
In January 2024, however, he consulted local police, saying Sato had gone missing following the ruling, according to the sources.
Takano purchased the survival knife used in the incident by mail order two to three months ago and brought it from his home to the Takadanobaba district.
© KYODO
29 Comments
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I'veSeenFootage
Well I don't know about the world, but Japan now knows what happened, and that won't get you your money back at all. On the contrary, you're gonna spend the rest of your life in jail. Was it worth it?
GuruMick
Remind me never to borrow money from a Japanese guy.
Tamarama
Say what???
IMadeAnAccountJustForThis
Well he got what he wanted. People know the girl owe(s)d him money. So it seems it was.
I definitely don't condone the guy's actions but;
This is a failure of the court system. Why was this girl able to so easily shirk her responsibility?
GuruMick
Anatomy of Motive is a book that examines serial killers and others. Good read in the genre .
This killing is a frenzied attack, done "up close and personal " for a pittance of money
This fellow deserves life in jail to keep others safe.
BB
He borrowed money from consumer credit firms to lend her. Word to the wise: Don't ever go near those consumer finance companies.
mountainpear
He won't have the worry of sarakin chasing him if he's in prison!
virusrex
So he made his complete lack of common sense well know. Congratulations the world now knows he is apparently incapable of taking good decisions.
GuruMick
No victim blaming on the forum.
The "man " is a psychopath
Imagine if everyone who didn't get repaid stabbed the person .
I suppose we wouldn't have Trump....
mbuhlayaw
There’s also a missing story here. The victim Sato didn’t even pay back 1 yen, she stayed in tower mansion with her fiancee and went travelling a lot.
The guy asked her even to return 10,000 yen is fine, but he got blocked by her.
On Japanese site, the way she asked to borrow money is not someone once off asking to borrow money, but kind of a person who used to borrow money from others.
GuruMick
No victim blaming people....sometimes you cut your losses...not cut the person
Mocheake
She used the guy, plain and simple. It's an old story but you don't go about killing her. You get jail, she's dead and the money won't ever be repaid plus you may lose your own life. Control your rage. Don't lend money to or borrow money from people except as an absolute last recourse.
Meiyouwenti
“Remind me never to borrow money from a Japanese guy.”
The slain live-streamer used her youth and influence to get money from the middle aged guy who I suppose had never been liked by a woman in his life. He even borrowed money from loan sharks to get her to like him. But she got the money and duped him. Never lend money to a Japanese girl.
obladi
huh. It looks more like you stalked and killed her.
elephant200
Next time don't lend money to people, even they are your cousins or your wife !
MiuraAnjin
If capital punishment really is a deterrent, as 83% of Japanese believe, will young, unscrupulous ladies now stop leeching off unpopular middle aged men?
GuruMick
Seriously...I am freaken appalled by comments here justifying this murder.
Pathetic loser lends money to a woman and doesn't get repaid .
End of story for any rational thinking person.
Gaijinjland
Never lend money with the expectation of ever seeing it again.
Roger Gusain
As Hamlet said: "Neither a borrower nor a lender be; for loan oft loses both itself and friend". I feel so sorry for poor Airi-san.
WoodyLee
Only a FOOL would do this, probably he was attracted to the 22 years old girl hoping that may be someday he'll get lucky.
Then he when he realized it was mission impossible, Money Can't Buy Love, he sued her and then killed her.
Selfish Fool, that's all.
WoodyLee
"...I am freaken appalled by comments here justifying this murder.
Pathetic loser lends money to a woman and doesn't get repaid .
End of story for any rational thinking person"
A reflection of the state of minds
ushosh123
Victim on victim violence I guess
Mr Kipling
That is almost exactly how I imagined the killer looked. Uncanny.
Mr Kipling
A lifetime in prison over 2.5 million yen? Doesn't make much sense, the real reason is the rejection.
kohakuebisu
The guy met her in person and could DM her, so there is a high chance she has led him on.
Her ranking on the livestreaming app corresponds to at least one million yen a month, so she could have paid him something back as demanded by the civil court. It sounds like such courts are powerless in reality.
I do not condone what he's done, but I doubt he'll get life for this. It'll be manslaughter or similar.
ClippetyClop
I'm not sure that you understand what 'manslaughter' is.
smithinjapan
You have unpaid debts! Now we all know! Congrats! Now you also have unpaid debts to society to add on to that, and probably in prison you'll start owing people right away. Ain't life grand?
Carossi
It's difficult to justify any crime if we think outside the context.
However, we also shouldn't forget that for us as human beings, "unfairness or injustice" could easily lead to incomprensible behaviours.
Jonathan Prin
People get crazy when they did all things correct and still got fooled zven by justice.
She crossed the line, she lost it all. He is still living...
Not everyone can psychologically bear this kind of situation.
He must have warned her.
Namorada
When the milk stops being free, I stop drinking.
Stop giving money to these talentless pretty faces.
They feed off your loneliness and they absolutely do not care about you.
They just extract wealth at your expense.
Treat them as such and keep your money in your own pocket.
travelbangaijin
It's nice to virtual signal in hindsight, but financial disputes is one of the leading causes of homicide.
She should have not blocked him and tried to make a payment arrangement. She going around live streaming while he going through financial distress by helping her - she is not a "victim" but a consequence of her actions to this serious matter.
travelbangaijin
FYI - her DM messages with him are published on Reddit - she was definitely exploiting this guy and that was a lot of money
travelbangaijin
GuruMick
If someone took money from a crime syndicate and never paid back and blocked them, what do you think what happened?
What you are doing is trying to say this situation should not have the same outcome? Why - that's where you wrong when you try to respond. Actions have consequences.