Japan - Miyazawa family of 4 murdered, Setagaya, Tokyo, 30 Dec 2000 #2

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Anime fans use a specific server on IRC to chat. It's pretty dead now, but would have probably been active in the year 2000. An anime fan myself, I'm familiar with the server and some of the channels, but I'm certain that IF Mikio was ever active on it that anyone who knew him is long gone from there. Even then, it's geared towards English speakers and fansubs, so I highly doubt he was ever involved in that. Not impossible, just very unlikely. I'm not sure what the Japan community is or was like or where they conversed, either.

Additionally, I imagine his computer was already evaluated in forensics to determine any contacts he may have had. So, I don't see there being any leads to people he may have known online. I could be wrong, of course.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

I'm thinking back to late 90s in Japan and this is my 2yen, a married office worker dad probably wouldn't be that active on message boards / social media- in Japan there was no Friendster or social media equivalent that was common back then. My workplace used an Intranet (look that up, kids!) For reference, we had flip phones or bricks and texted using T9.

Some homes did have fast internet by that time in the form of a DSL line(does that sound right?), I had dialup at my place, but someone with a home office probably had something more reliable.

There are a few theories that suggest Mikio was highly active on early forums. One in particular I remember was in relation to fans of anime voice actors. It suggests that one big shot actor was abusing a female actor and this recently came out in the MeToo movement. But long before that, Mikio was vocal about this abuse online in defence of the actress, and even maybe confronted this big shot in person at some event. Supposedly, the abuser was connected to some manager who was part of the mafia and this is what led to the murders. Now, I don't give this theory much credit simply because it doesn't tally with what we know about Mikio, how he was described to me by his own mother. I can't see him levelling accusations online, much less in person, while he has two small children and so on. Second problem, how would this information be available to people on true crime forums in 2023 but have eluded the TMPD technicians this whole time? It's true that from my own anecdotal experience of the TMPD detectives is that they may not be technologically up to the minute (we were asked to fax them when dealing with them), I just can't imagine that the contents of Mikio's computer communications were or are still a mystery to the TMPD.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

That's my thinking too. The only slight thing that niggles my brain is the carving on the bottom. Someone carved the number 6, the age of Rei. So it is almost as if the statue was intended solely for Rei, not Nina. But then again it could have no relevance, or have been there already.

It could well be that it was intended for Rei only. Maybe someone who lost a small boy? Any number of things, really. I'm assuming the TMPD would have checked the statue for fingerprints...

 

[FacelessPodcast]

I was active duty army for WAY too long, and now I am a contractor. Thank you for you interest!

Patriot Express is the charter version of military flights, its more like a brand name. It is used for people flying on official orders, which is active duty military (I think DA civilians on orders too). If on orders, its fairly unusual to not have to use Patriot Express. Space-a means space available. So if they are not active duty (contractor, retiree, etc) and do not have official orders, or just want to take a trip home for leave, they may be eligible to fly Patriot Express depending on the space available on the flight. This can be trickier for the flyer, because the flights times are subject to change without much warning, and getting a flight back can be a gamble. I am getting a little off track with the explanation, but this blog explains it very well: Flying Space-A on the Patriot Express: 12 Things to Know - Poppin' Smoke

Here's some food for thought, too, about how convoluted a potential suspect could be based on my own real-life family:

My oldest child is not biologically mine (not that it makes any difference to me) and we lived together in Germany between 2016-2019. From Germany, we went all over the continent travelling. I took a job in Turkey (She never visited there, but I did bring her things when I visited home) from 2019-2022, and now I work in South Korea. The whole family now lives in SoKo since March 2023. Since she has been here in South Korea, she has been to Philippines and Thailand. Her great-grandmother was 100% Lithuanian. I give you all of this information to put into perspective how tangled the investigation could get if she had committed the crime. Military families tend to be diverse and usually take the opportunities to visit places when they get stationed overseas. My first thought when I heard this case was pretty much "Yea I bet that was a dependent with their own unique backstory." The AF base sand, the diverse blood typing, the clothing from several places in the world, the ability to not have their injuries pop up on the radar.

That's very interesting, lone. Much appreciated! I might reach out to you privately if I have more questions on these kinds of logistics if that's OK with you?

And re: your scenario, it's a good illustration of how particular the killer's background could be. That's always been front of mind for me; whereas Japan is one of the most ethnically homogenous places on earth, our killer is quite possibly not.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Noooooooo! Did Cleo throw their baby over the cliff???

Haha are you reading Blue Light Yokohama, Friday? Spoilers!

 

[lonewanderer]

That's very interesting, lone. Much appreciated! I might reach out to you privately if I have more questions on these kinds of logistics if that's OK with you?

And re: your scenario, it's a good illustration of how particular the killer's background could be. That's always been front of mind for me; whereas Japan is one of the most ethnically homogenous places on earth, our killer is quite possibly not.

Sure! I’ll help you as much as I can.

 

[minamoon]

was born on base and on/off for years. I also currently study in Japan. What I can contribute is that children of American military members have ample opportunity to learn Japanese and integrate into the culture (somewhat). FWIW

 

[minamoon]

Happy to translate or give perspective to the base as well

 

[SteveL]

Nic, Thank you for the most interesting podcast I've heard in years. You try to uncover each angle. There's a couple ones that bear more scrutiny.

The money taken has always been an odd issue. The consensus is it was a red herring to make it look like a robbery. If that were the case, I feel the killer would've taken it all. And, a couple valuable possessions from the home to further the ruse. But as reported, nothing of value was taken.

I believe the AMOUNT taken tells us something. If the killer was leaving the country, was there an amount you could take without having to declare at customs? Also, what denomination of bills were taken? When I have a $100 bill in my wallet, it draws attention. But $20 bills don't. I'm assuming the same would hold true with Japanese currency. Most surmise the killer was young. When I was younger, carrying a large amount of cash would draw suspicion with my friends, siblings, parents, etc. Might the killer have feared the same?

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Nic, Thank you for the most interesting podcast I've heard in years. You try to uncover each angle. There's a couple ones that bear more scrutiny.

The money taken has always been an odd issue. The consensus is it was a red herring to make it look like a robbery. If that were the case, I feel the killer would've taken it all. And, a couple valuable possessions from the home to further the ruse. But as reported, nothing of value was taken.

I believe the AMOUNT taken tells us something. If the killer was leaving the country, was there an amount you could take without having to declare at customs? Also, what denomination of bills were taken? When I have a $100 bill in my wallet, it draws attention. But $20 bills don't. I'm assuming the same would hold true with Japanese currency. Most surmise the killer was young. When I was younger, carrying a large amount of cash would draw suspicion with my friends, siblings, parents, etc. Might the killer have feared the same?

Thank you so much for your kind words there, Steve. That’s a good observation about the money. Personally, I don’t think larger cash bills would stand out in Japan 23 years ago seeing as it was a cash-based society (far less so these days but still far more than the US or the UK). Now if the police are right about the killer being young then maybe that would stand out. But then again he was wearing a brand new jacket, his knife cost $50, his shirt cost about that much — it doesn’t seem as if he was from a poor family at least. As for declaring at it the airport when entering another country — if he’s capable of slaughtering an entire family, I doubt he’d have any qualms about keeping the cash in his wallet and saying nothing. And that’s assuming he didn’t fly out of Japan via a US military airport. (My best guess is that he did).

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Question for the group. Anyone with DNA knowledge. @Charlot123? If you had the chance to talk with the scientist at the university who leaked the DNA information about the killer, what would you ask him? (This will have to be translated so in as much plain English as possible).

 

[dotr]

There are a few theories that suggest Mikio was highly active on early forums. One in particular I remember was in relation to fans of anime voice actors. It suggests that one big shot actor was abusing a female actor and this recently came out in the MeToo movement. But long before that, Mikio was vocal about this abuse online in defence of the actress, and even maybe confronted this big shot in person at some event. Supposedly, the abuser was connected to some manager who was part of the mafia and this is what led to the murders. Now, I don't give this theory much credit simply because it doesn't tally with what we know about Mikio, how he was described to me by his own mother. I can't see him levelling accusations online, much less in person, while he has two small children and so on. Second problem, how would this information be available to people on true crime forums in 2023 but have eluded the TMPD technicians this whole time? It's true that from my own anecdotal experience of the TMPD detectives is that they may not be technologically up to the minute (we were asked to fax them when dealing with them), I just can't imagine that the contents of Mikio's computer communications were or are still a mystery to the TMPD.

Regarding the interest in anime, could there have been any connection to this recently sentenced to death, arsonist? speculation.

Japan - Suspect screaming 'You die!' kills up to 33 at animation studio, Kyoto, 18 July 2019

Suspect screaming 'You die!' kills up to 33 at Japan animation studio Smoke billows from a Kyoto Animation building in Kyoto, western Japan, Thursday, July 18, 2019. The fire broke out in the three-story building in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto, after a suspect sprayed an unidentified...

www.websleuths.com

 

[FacelessPodcast]

I would have to assume this man's fingerprints and DNA were taken immediately upon arrest? Any connection to the Miyazawas would have been flagged up then?

 

[TravelingBug]

Question for the group. Anyone with DNA knowledge. @Charlot123? If you had the chance to talk with the scientist at the university who leaked the DNA information about the killer, what would you ask him? (This will have to be translated so in as much plain English as possible).

@10ofRods Any chance you'd read through this thread (and/or listen to the podcast also!)? I feel like you'd probably be another who would have some good thoughts about DNA related questions, plus I just think you would have some good thoughts in general (there's a possible CA link to area around Edwards Airforce base also, FYI)

 

[Charlot123]

Question for the group. Anyone with DNA knowledge. @Charlot123? If you had the chance to talk with the scientist at the university who leaked the DNA information about the killer, what would you ask him? (This will have to be translated so in as much plain English as possible).

(Give me some time to look through what I was doing in 2016 with familial genes. I was a member of many groups but COVID and the death of many older relatives has dampened my interest.)

However, what came to my mind as of today:

Understanding the limitations imposed by privacy, Japanese laws, difficulty sending out of the country, etc... I would ask the following. Seeing that there is "no entry" sign on criminology pathway, is it possible, instead of DNA profiling, to try purely genetic approach?

What Japanese police has is the killer's DNA. (Plus the results of old analysis which are of limited use.) But with the DNA itself, potentially Japanese LE can do the thing that is now available to all decent geneticists, in any developed country: whole genome sequencing.

Whole genome sequencing is the full genetic code. It is routinely done to determine genetic conditions or carriers of certain diseases. When Steve Jobs did it, it was expensive. Now, financially, it became more than accessible. It sequences the mitochondrial DNA, too.

Sometimes the geneticists can see some deletions/duplications, genetic syndromes. Or, Genomic-wide-association study (GWAS) is a way to see if any genetic variant is associated with a trait. The largest public open-access dataset is UK biobank. Beijing Biobank could be of use for Asians. This way, it is outside criminology. It is pure genetic comparison.

Instead of "let's submit our DNA to some databank whose owners are withstanding mounting attacks within their own country," which could create problems for anyone, especially in Japan, can they compare their genetic code with those in open access to see how it fares? I think there should be 0.5 mln genomes in GB bank alone.

And then, see where it leads them. If Y-sequence matches someone in open access system, or there is some more information about better typing of mitogroup.

BTW, about mitogroup.
Here is a toolbox of different mitoDNA analyzers.

Frontiers | “Mitochondrial Toolbox” – A Review of Online Resources to Explore Mitochondrial Genomics

Mitochondria play a significant role in many biological systems. There is emerging evidence that differences in the mitochondrial genome may contribute to mu...

www.frontiersin.org

(In the end, there are online mitochondrial resources. These are newer analyzers/databases.) I would ask, if, without taking DNA anywhere, is it possible to run mitoDNS through modern online databases, for more precise identification of haplogroup, for example. Or maybe, for mito- phenotyping. I noticed there was H mito analyzer listed in this article. Now, it is an open secret that killer's mitogroup is a subset of H, or at least this is what I read in Japanese Wiki article. Maybe it also has some private mutations?

Give me some time to find information about DNA from objects.

 

[MesquiteO21]

Could be also NPE, it is not uncommon. Keep in mind, because of mom's haplogroup, we are subconsciously thinking, South Europe. In fact, she could be Druze, Lebanese, Northern African. The kid may look very different from what we picture in our heads. But I think he stood out at the base as "strange", JMO.

P.S. Enjoy! I loved the country, great museums and best food in the world.

Dang I didn’t know it was just haplogroup they identified, that’s disappointing…wonder if his dna is in something like gedmatch to try to get familial hits? (Sorry for my ignorance I haven’t been good at keeping up with this thread)

Because you’re right haplogroup really isn’t very accurate at all regarding someone’s looks, religion, where they reside,etc. My haplogroup is HV which does fit with my maternal grandmother’s mother being Russian/Eastern European Jewish but I don’t look like a stereotypical Russian Jew given my other ancestries. And I certainly don’t look middle eastern. So if I was the perp in this situation you may see the HV haplogroup which I believe is most common in the Arabian peninsula and think I’m middle eastern/Muslim when in actuality I’m a very WASPY/Norwegian-looking pale Christian gal in the Northern US.

It’s better than nothing to have his haplogroups but at the same time it’s kind of basically useless.

 

[MesquiteO21]

one of the things that bothers and confounds me in this case is how Rei was strangled while everyone else was stabbed. Given that police also believe he was killed first, it’s logical to conclude he was the target. Why would a 6 year old be a target? Well…for a p*do file. Perp wanted to m*lest him but things spiraled way out of control. My question, and it’s an icky one sorry, is if Rei was found nude or partially nude and also if the autopsy indicated any sort of m*lestation? I’ve never seen that mentioned anywhere so of course I don’t know if that means the answers are all no, or if the answers are possibly yes and police are keeping that hush.

This scenario is really the only thing I can think to make some sort of sense. He brought the knife (sword?) to make Rei comply, but killed him by strangulation as it would presumably be quieter and not messy like stabbing. But once discovered by the father he had to stab him as strangling a grown man would take a lot more energy and would incur much more of a scuffle with the risk of the father possibly winning. But hands are no match for a knife or sword.

Since I’m thinking Rei was the target I’d really like to know if and how thoroughly his school was investigated. Even boyfriends or sons of the teachers at the school. Native English-speaking teachers in Japan is kind of a popular thing so I wouldn’t be surprised if his mom was an American (with at least partially Non-East Asian ancestry as seen by the haplogroup) teaching in the area. Just a theory.

(and holy cow I have so much to catch up on with this thread! So I apologize if this has been discussed thoroughly already)

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Dang I didn’t know it was just haplogroup they identified, that’s disappointing…wonder if his dna is in something like gedmatch to try to get familial hits? (Sorry for my ignorance I haven’t been good at keeping up with this thread)

Because you’re right haplogroup really isn’t very accurate at all regarding someone’s looks, religion, where they reside,etc. My haplogroup is HV which does fit with my maternal grandmother’s mother being Russian/Eastern European Jewish but I don’t look like a stereotypical Russian Jew given my other ancestries. And I certainly don’t look middle eastern. So if I was the perp in this situation you may see the HV haplogroup which I believe is most common in the Arabian peninsula and think I’m middle eastern/Muslim when in actuality I’m a very WASPY/Norwegian-looking pale Christian gal in the Northern US.

It’s better than nothing to have his haplogroups but at the same time it’s kind of basically useless.

Yeah, the two haplogroups that have been mentioned here are O-M122 and H15. But as you say, that's pretty useless in terms of catching the killer. Wikipedia tells me that the former is found in over 50% of Chinese males, for example. I'm a total science dunce but as I understand it, this information could be interesting but nothing more than that. It gives us context but doesn't help us catch him. 23andMe tells me I have more Neanderthal DNA than 70% of the population but if I was a murderer, how would that knowledge help the police? And that's ignoring the fact that Japan has no version of 23andMe, Gedmatch etc.

@MesquiteO21, regarding the sequence of the murders and Rei being the object of the killer's intentions. Basically, we could argue this either way. Rei was the only one not to be stabbed and was also the first to die, so this seemingly places significance in the order of the events. But it's also quite possible the killer entered the house through the window into Rei's bedroom. Meaning he was simply first as he was right there. And he was strangled not through any greater meaning, the killer simply wanted to stay as quiet as possible in doing so. The same goes for Yasuko, we could argue this in reverse: it was actually she who was the true target as she was saved til last and he focused most of the violence on her. (The Chief, who I interviewed at length, said she was stabbed long after the point of death and he grimaced when talking about the scene he saw). But he was also adamant that there was no sexual component in this case at all, including the children. I can't say for sure how they investigated only that I am absolutely sure this included both schools. I know, for example, that they have fingerprinted over 1 million men in this case, they were out looking at men with hand injuries in the hospitals across the Tokyo region the very next day (a city of 40 million people). It would be almost impossible for me to imagine they didn't consider some sort of predator that was focused on Niina or Rei.

 

[Charlot123]

Dang I didn’t know it was just haplogroup they identified, that’s disappointing…wonder if his dna is in something like gedmatch to try to get familial hits? (Sorry for my ignorance I haven’t been good at keeping up with this thread)

Because you’re right haplogroup really isn’t very accurate at all regarding someone’s looks, religion, where they reside,etc. My haplogroup is HV which does fit with my maternal grandmother’s mother being Russian/Eastern European Jewish but I don’t look like a stereotypical Russian Jew given my other ancestries. And I certainly don’t look middle eastern. So if I was the perp in this situation you may see the HV haplogroup which I believe is most common in the Arabian peninsula and think I’m middle eastern/Muslim when in actuality I’m a very WASPY/Norwegian-looking pale Christian gal in the Northern US.

It’s better than nothing to have his haplogroups but at the same time it’s kind of basically useless.

What we know is that they identified mitochondrial DNA and Y-haplotype. They could have done something with autosomal DNA, only all genetic genealogy was in nascent stage at that time, if at all. Autosomal DNA would tell us more about a person's ancestry, but even now, all they can reliably tell is where your ancestors have lived within the last 150-200 years. They definitely can't tell where you live now by looking at your DNA.

H, V, HV are all European, but only 40% of Ashkenazi mito DNA are from the "founder" groups, and even this is highly questionable. Ashkenazi Jews got into genetic bottleneck, and maybe some local women converted. Another interesting fact? Palestinian BRACA1 gene, causing breast and ovarian cancer, is found in Mexico. How? The Spanish inquisition didn't trust its "marranos", the Jews forcibly converted to Christianity, and tried to send them out into newly acquired colonies. Where people mixed with the locals.

But, as I started thinking about BRACA, I remembered a situation that gave me some ideas regarding this case.

In short: a company like the now-defunct DNA.land. That ambitious project imploded due to certain disorganization, but they were run by the Columbian University and did research in breast cancer. Once, they asked for DNA of people with positive and negative negative family history of breast cancer, to compare. Several of my relatives with negative family history, agreed to donate their DNAs for the study. As a side benefit, there was also a relative search function. I wish they had it now.

So, Japan might feel it would be problematic sending the killer's DNA to the US. They already had problems working with Korea, remember. But as long as the killer is faceless, they have nameless DNA, and hence, there is no violation of privacy. Privacy applies to the case when the DNA of a known person is subjected to studies without the person's consent or court order. But with faceless DNA, they can do full genome sequence (1000 $ at most), extract the full genetic code, it is essentially long sequence of letters, and then they can compare it with any DNA they see fit. In any world lab or open-source project. At this point in time, anonymous DNA is their strength. Someone faceless broke into the house, killed four people, bled all over, defecated in the toilet, ate food, stole money and left. His DNA, the result of his vandalism, is as obscure as him. For all I know, Japanese police can compare different portions of the genome with data from different projects, the way they see fit. Y - with one open source, mito - with another. This will protect the anonymity for longer, and then they can pull it together.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

Japan's laws on privacy, though well-founded when originally created, really do hinder investigations.

I was following a case of an American woman (Pattie Wu-Murad) who went missing in Japan. Her phone records would potentially have shown where she went. But the Japanese phone company she was using won't release the data--because the only person who can request the missing woman's private data is the woman who is missing!