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Police in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, said Tuesday that a body found on a mountain on June 7 is probably that of missing 17-year-old high school girl Mayuko Arakawa. Police said they expect to confirm the identity after a DNA test is conducted.
Police found the body after a man, already under arrest for sexual assault, told police he killed the girl and dumped her body on the mountain, Sankei Shimbun reported.
According to investigators, police in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, last month arrested Wataru Akaishi, an unemployed 47-year-old man on charges of sexually assaulting an Okinawan woman in Aichi Prefecture.
Police later discovered that Akaishi had befriended Arakawa on the Internet and made arrangements to meet her. Police said Akaishi rented a car and came to Hitoyoshi in early May and stayed in a business hotel.
Police said Akaishi told them he arranged to meet Arakawa on May 4 -- the day she disappeared. Sankei quoted police as saying he called the girl on his cell phone. He checked out of his hotel on May 4.
© Japan Today
15 Comments
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YongYang
Why can't we yet readily identify these monsters? Surely we must be getting close to identifying 'type'. So sad. Yet, well done the investigative team who can help relatives grieve. RIP.
Frederick Leach
i feel terrible about that , i can't beleive i have to share this world with terrible people like that , these predator's are lurking everywhere, murder's stabbing's ect , you just wait and watch , week after week, month after month , year after year these horrible storie's will flood this site , tonight reader's of this site will just go out or home and forget this ever happened , imagine if that girl was your daughter that got killed , people let's stand up
ballsahoy
Depressing reading about another young Japanese woman's life cut short because of some guy. Unemployed, single, over-30 year old Japanese men should automatically be put on some kind of a police list (and have a probation officer), as all these recent heinous crimes have been committed by these types.
nath
The problem with profiling is that it persecutes the innocent in pursuit of the guilty. Why should the innocent have to pay for the crimes of the guilty?
dracpoo2
RIP. Condolences to the family of the girl. May the killer never see the sun again. I can see that the "school girl loving" culture is getting dangerous results..
DaDude
This will only add to the belief of many that meeting someone you meet on-line is dangerous
kimuzukashiiiii
I think the saddest thing is that I never even knew this girl was missing ... was it published anywhere? I didnt see it in either the Japanese or English press. just 17... how sad.
StormR
These child rapists/killers should be locked in a room with the parents of all the murdered raped children, what happens after that is not recorded or reported on, but make it public what the punishment will be so maybe these sickos will know what is in store for them when caught.
I hope the prisons here are like others country's where these bastards get hell everyday of their sentence from the other inmates.
kaimycahl
@ Fredrick Leach i feel terrible about that , i can't believe i have to share this world with terrible people like that , these predator's are lurking everywhere, murder's stabbing's etc , you just wait and watch , week after week, month after month , year after year these horrible stories will flood this site , tonight reader's of this site will just go out or home and forget this ever happened , imagine if that girl was your daughter that got killed , people let's stand up
People are standing up but what can they do. You said it yourself "predator's are lurking everywhere" all people can do is report what they see and even if they see something its not going to stop the fools who feel they can cheat on peoples lives. So why not go home and forget this ever happened! Who wants to walk around remembering these tragic moments. Yes its sad but I can't let these idiots STEAL MY JOY!!
Yardley
I hate the use of the expression "dumped the body" in these kinds of reports. It's bad enough what happened to the victim without making it sound like they were disposed of like garbage. The murderers show no mercy, but maybe journalists could show a little more compassion for the victim, family, and friends, and not use those particular words. There are other less disrespectful choices; it shouldn't be necessary to exactly quote the words of the murderer.
serendipitous
Yardley
Surely it's better to use words that are closest to describing what happened. We don't know exactly what the murderer said. If the article said, "Placed her lifeless body gently on the ground", that may make people empathize a little with the killer. The word "dumped" reminds us what an animal he is.
Marilyn Marie Lee
Poor thing. May she rest in peace.
Kittychosen
@Yardley
When you start using euphenisms for things, instead of the real words that say what it is, then you end up with a whole heap of misunderstanding (for example; pass instead of die, abuse instead of... what?!).
I doubt if he placed her at all. He probably dumped her. If a reporter starts using flowery language then he is putting bias on to the story. Best just keep it factual.
And none of us know what he did until he tells us.
Yardley
@serendipitous @Kittychosen
"We don't know exactly what the murderer said."
"And none of us know what he did until he tells us."
Seems like we know what he said and did because the reporter told us, didn't he?
Besides, what's flowery or inaccurate about writing, "left her body on the mountain", or "took her body to the mountain and left it there"? You have to actually be reminded that he's an animal?
Kittychosen
@Yardley
What animal would do that?
NO, he's as human as human is.