Police in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward said Saturday they have arrested a 24-year-old woman on suspicion of killing the landlord of her apartment.
According to police, the suspect, Mika Kato, stabbed her 69-year-old landlord, Shozo Honma, in the stomach with a knife at around 2 p.m. on Friday, Fuji TV reported. Kato also attacked Honma’s 65-year-old wife, hitting her on the head with a wrench.
A passerby saw Mrs Honma, stagger out of the second-floor apartment, bleeding from the head, and called police. The victims were taken to hospital where Honma died. His wife is in a stable condition, police said.
Police said Honma and his wife had gone to the apartment because Kato was four months behind in the rent and she had refused several requests to pay.
© Japan Today
20 Comments
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Outrider
The nutcases seem on the increase in japan.
Aly Rustom
She wanted free accomodation. Now she's going to get free accomodation. For a LONG time, hopefully.
Alphaape
Never understood why as an adult, I would need someone to sign for me to pay my rent if I didn't. What about personal responsibility? But, I guess the actions of this 24 year old prove why this must be.
Sad for the loss of life and injury, but the woman should not have to worry about rent for a long time now since she will get a free room and meals now.
englisc aspyrgend
Any rental agreement is a contract, she owed the money. She still wanted the benefit of the property but wasn't so keen on upholding her side of the contract. Nightmare tenant, so best not to become personally involved, use professionals and the courts (or several heavies from the local bar :-)
TravelingSales
If the Japanese courts were more efficient at enforcing contracts, these face-to-face confrontations could be avoided.
FightingViking
I always faithfully paid my "exorbitant" rent every month - however, when the landlord refused to admit there were rats in his place, I had to go to to the "Hoken-jo" with "rat droppings" to prove it, they finally contacted him and he finally "obliged"... It is NOT always the tenants fault...
DaDude
Yes, there are probably a lot of Mikas living in an apartment in Nerima, Tokyo.
WA4TKG
I know someone that lives there, also named Mika....
MsDelicious
Even if convicted and sent to jail, will she still owe the four months back rent with interest?
bullfighter
Indeed. When I first came to Japan in the 70s, newspapers were getting flack for describing anyone who got arrested as a criminal. Civil rights advocates made the very proper point that your are not a "criminal" until you are convicted. It was in response to this criticism that the newspapers and other media shifted to their use of "suspect" even when it's obvious that the person arrested has committed a crime.
Moreover, even if someone is arrested for and admits a murder they might be determined to be mentally incompetent or insane in which case they may not be judged to have committed a criminal act.
Kapuna
Scrote
That would have been the best decision but,there probably wasn't one.
Scrote
Why not ask the guarantor to pay the overdue rent?
Gaijindesu
Thank goodness that's not how the justice system works in Japan. You should be thankful too, lest one day you yourself get shot on sight by someone who mistakes you for a suspect.
Strangerland
Show me a first-world newspaper where that's not the case.
Jason Santana
I like how articles on here are always written with "suspected." That girl should have been shot on sight for what she did. She probably still had the weapons in her hand when police arrived.
sensei258
Hey, this was a financial decision. Now she can have free room and board for the rest of her life.
Gaijindesu
Vicious and uncalled for. Now she'll get free accommodation for a long time.
khulifi
Oh , my god ... what a tenant.
John Michael White
That's just messed up.
Stargame
Tenant from Hell... I am not paying up.... u are going down....