Murdered Tokyo couple had cash stashed all over the house

Two people were found dead in an Itabashi Ward home by firefighters last week. They were identified as realtor Eiichi Seta, 74, and his wife Chieko, 69. The considerable wealth of the couple was quite out of the ordinary. Neighbors had heard that “the wife sprained her ankle when she tripped over a wad of bills the equivalent of 30 million yen” or about “mold growing on bills left in the closet.”

Fire broke out at their home early in the morning on May 25. After their charred bodies were found, police said initially that the couple had head injuries and were also stabbed before the house was set on fire. It was later confirmed that the victims were still alive at the time the fire broke out.

The couple’s wealth was well known. Their 500-tsubo residence alone was valued at approximately 900 million yen. The property included a large pond in which carps, each worth over 100,000 yen, swam. And left behind in the debris was 10 million yen in cash.

An acquaintance who visited their home says that “the property was so large you wouldn’t know what was in there. I was flabbergasted by the 15-tsubo izakaya-like structure they built just to entertain guests.”

The Setas had been large landowners dating to the Edo period, with enough land that would supposedly “allow them to travel from Itabashi to Ikebukuro without stepping on anyone else’s property.” Indeed, they owned more than 4,500 tsubo in the area around their residence, and their gross asset is estimated to be 10 billion yen.

According to a neighbor, the couple publicly stated how they kept in their drawers tens of million yen in cash because they didn’t trust the banks and were oblivious about security.

At the crime scene, police investigators found a safe forced open but with half burnt cash left behind. The exact amount of money stolen is yet to be determined.

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Latest 15 of 25 Total Comments Show All

cleo at 01:59 PM JST - 2nd June

They preferred to let the money literally rot in a closet to avoid paying inheritance tax after they've gone and can't spend any more anyway? Pathetic.

It's not as if the couple worked their socks off earning the money in the first place - The Setas had been large landowners dating to the Edo period. In other words they were living off money left by someone who had been dead over 200 years.

They were saying on the telly that the husband spent an average of 3 million yen a month on drinking. It doesn't sound like they had much idea of the value of money.
swingaway at 03:17 PM JST - 2nd June

I agree, unfortunately, that the deceased did not have a common understanding of money like the rest of us. (aGAGHG - Just give me 1%) Maybe it wasn't limited to just avoiding taxes, but also having so much bread that it literally had no value to them. Hence, blabbing and bragging. You can be sure the cops will be investigating acquaintances to the couple.
outofmydepth at 03:35 PM JST - 2nd June

everybody knew about the money according to the neighbors i saw on TV. talk about idiots.
stirfry at 04:36 PM JST - 2nd June

now, a thousand bucks a day drinking ? that's more like it
ronaldk at 05:27 PM JST - 2nd June

Interesting. I guess in other countries persons of such means would have strong security systems, bodyguards, guard dogs, etc. Guess they thought Japan was safer than it is. Glad I have no money.
jonnyboy at 05:34 PM JST - 2nd June

I can understand them not trusting banks, but really, when the economy went balls up, they should've sent that cash to overseas bank accounts.

if they had trouble trusting banks run by ware ware nihonjin banks, i can't see that they would trust gaijin banks
WilliB at 10:28 PM JST - 2nd June

" According to a neighbor, the couple publicly stated how they kept in their drawers tens of million yen in cash because they didn’t trust the banks and were oblivious about security. "

That´s extreme, even for Japan. They were inviting trouble.
KnowBetter at 05:24 AM JST - 3rd June

Two words: pretty sad
Bento at 06:15 PM JST - 3rd June

i see the money is more important on this thread than the murders..now that really is pathetic.
osakaretired at 10:14 AM JST - 4th June

As a child growing up in the same area, my wife was a friend of the murdered husband's older sister and used to go to their house to play. She knew that they were "extremely rich" but even though she understood "rich" to an extent, "extremely rich" didn't mean much to her. Whenever she would play with the Seta girl, a maid would always be standing nearby and the maid would applaud and/or laugh at the proper moments. Maybe that is what "extremely rich" meant in those days. She doesn't remember her friend's younger brother (the deceased) but he was most likely still a baby at that time. My wife has also told me that the operator of a small store near the Seta's house would always admonish my wife with a "You shouldn't be playing with the daughter of that family." But, she didn't understand what he meant then then nor does she understand it now. PS: She has hadn't any contact with any of them family since before the War.
bdiego at 06:29 PM JST - 5th June

I'll say one thing about banks..better they get murdered and burned down than you.

Look, I had maids and tutors growing up and I don't think our family was particularly rich. That's not even rich. Rich is spraining your ankle tripping over a stack of money, and having moldy stacks of money in your closet. Or being able to walk almost between two train stations across your tracts of land. =)

Sad thing is, not only did they have way more money than the thief/murderer was willing to carry away, but they were killed over it. Being murdered over what is probably less than 5% of your net worth is a pretty sad way to die. Not only were they unlikely to have enjoyed that money anyways, but the thief likely isn't going to either. Let's just say not a lot of thieves invest their money wisely.
knews at 11:55 PM JST - 9th June

Hey, if that's the kind of life you grew up with then that becomes the norm. For us "typical" people it's hard to fathom but it's all about your upbringing and way of life. Not so different from ridiculously wealthy movie stars or sportspeople, except that these were just very rich people who weren't famous.
Stanley50 at 08:44 AM JST - 11th June

So much for Safety Country.
ultradodgy at 10:10 AM JST - 17th June

There's another article on this story on the Japan Times website which paints a very different picture about their house, wealth, etc. I would strongly urge JT to caveat all Shukan Post translations (and those from similar publications) with a giant "THIS IS VERY EXAGERATED" heading...
telecasterplayer at 03:51 PM JST - 17th June

Regardless of their odd cash-storage habits, murder is MURDER.