Japan - Miyazawa family of 4 murdered, Setagaya, Tokyo, 30 Dec 2000 #3

[Hausos]

Interesting point Sor Juana! The prevailing belief appears to be that the killer may be related to military personnel, and possibly the Yokota airbase as it's the closest airbase in the area. I was actually looking at SE Asian populations. Aside from China, Korea, and Japan; the paternal haplogroup the killer has is also seen overwhelmingly in SE Asia, and in particular, the Philippines. Interestingly enough, the Yokota yearbooks had a lot of Filipino or half-Filipino teenagers.

I never truly delved into the case but I've certainly kept up with it because I wanted to see it resolved for the Miyazawa family. I always believed that the killer was a wholly Japanese youth who never committed another crime again, hence why he can't be found. The hip bag was always a red herring in my mind. There are so many thrift stores, small shops, marketplaces, etcetera in Japan. He could have possibly bought the bag from someone or someone may have gifted it to him. Whilst the sand had links to America, the other items in the bag had links to Japan. Only recently have I looked more closely into the foreigner angle.

I think I began to appreciate the foreigner angle more and more as I read through a lot of theories/thoughts about the evidence presented. In particular, I am painstakingly curious about Faceless's POI. I don't understand why the TMPD seems to be more than happy to inform the public about the details of the case, even oversharing, yet become more tight-lipped when it comes to the sand/deeper investigations into the sand's origins. Like I said, I thought the sand in the hip bag was a red herring, but the TMPD's reaction and mysteriousness surrounding the sand is rather confusing and threw me off. I also don't understand why An Irie does not care much about opening the home to further DNA investigations. Both of this... makes me think...
Basically, we all know how Japan is diplomatically. Especially with the US.

Truthfully, if the DNA was examined more thoroughly, the case may have been solved a long time ago. If the prevailing hunch is correct, the killer would have many relatives with foreign names in his extended line. It would point to a specific region. It is frustrating we have everything we need to solve the case but bureaucracy is keeping true justice stifled. It almost seems insulting for the victims, frankly.

 

[FlowersInBloom]

The question of how the killer was able to kill a family of 4, armed only with a knife, without disturbing the family adjacent to the home, has bothered me since first listening to Faceless. I can't speak for Nic, but it seems he's felt the same. I have a plausible theory.

A close friend of mine, unaware of this case, is a former high school wrestling coach. I simply asked him, "If there was a slightly built family of 4, do you think one of your students could subdue them?" His answer without pause was, "Easily. He could probably even take out 4 people with your (average) build."

Then I asked him if he thought an experienced wrestler could subdue them quietly. As we know, the adjacent family states they heard nothing, besides a thud they assume was the ladder. Again, without pausing, he said "I don't get into choke holds. They're too violent. But, if he used the right choke hold, definitely."

I also asked about anger issues. He told me a LOT of wrestlers have rage issues. Many have violent tendencies.

Per Yokoto yearbooks....While a few Yokoto AFB students are shown wearing bucket hats similar to the one the killer left behind, it in no way implicates them. Yokoto AFB had a skate park, just as there was one adjacent the Miyazawa home. A few Yokoto AFB students are wrestlers, with apparent rage issues. At least one brags about his expertise in choke holds. Clearly, all of this is circumstantial, and doesn't implicate anyone. However, to me as a whole, it solidifies Nic's opinion the killer was the son of Yokoto AFB military.

My anecdote here: I was unlucky enough to come across a video of a man defending his store from a thief on Twitter (that website is a cesspool these days of shock videos).

The store owner defended his store from the thief with a frenzied knife attack. Both men were average build and the same height. Once the store owner began stabbing the thief quickly enough in the legs, arms, back, and then neck, he went limp and collapsed to the floor in about 5 seconds. It didn’t take long at all. The thief fought back but didn’t have a weapon he could get to.

Even if the killer didn’t have any other expertise in such things as wrestling or choke holds I believe with enough quick, frenzied stabbing with the knives the family went down without much of a chance. I think it was mentioned the killer was deemed to be taller than both Mikio and Yasuko right? I remember reading Mikio was a rather short guy without much of a build on him…
Add the element of surprise and a mother taking care of her sick child and I can see why he achieved it… though he did get injured in the process.

 

[Hausos]

About "East Asian father". If you assume it by his Y, let me respectfully disagree. Can the murderer be a pure European? Surely, if we look only at mitoDNA and Y, it is not impossible. H15 is met in Europe, as to M-122...everywhere where the Mongols had reached, it can persist in Europeans. (It is not a "Mongolian" Y, but the Mongols once united a lot of different tribes). He can be from Russia, Poland, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, for example. Or, if not Mongols, remember the Great Silk Route. Silk Road - Wikipedia

In short, to even say that the murderer is Asian or half-Asian, one needs to look at his autosomes.

I do think he looks Asian and is Asian enough to not stand out, though. i have certain doubts about half-Asian. A Eurasian would look Asian to Europeans, but I bet he'd stand out in Japan because of "European" component. We notice "tribal" traits that look "foreign" to us. Unless no one saw him at all, but i doubt it.

About the killer, while I understand that the Japanese laws may limit comparison to "law-abiding citizens", given that the DNA they got from Setagaya is his, and he is a murderer, what would prevent TMPD from doing the most modern tests of his own DNA? Not comparing it to anyone, just doing his own? They can sequence his whole genome, for that matter, he is the killer, himself to himself they can compare, at least.

I strongly believe the father is most certainly of Asian origin (either NE Asian or SE Asian).

Here, people upload their haplogroups to spread and share information and you can see the most common origins. O-M122 YTree

I could be wrong, of course. Maybe the killer belongs to the rare 1% of people who aren't Asian and have this specific paternal haplogroup. I am iffy about the maternal haplogroup being taken to mean that his mother is foreign and he is of mixed race, but with the paternal haplogroup I am nearly 99% certain it indicates his father is Asian. The killer may not be mixed at all.

Overall, I definitely agree with you. I think he has an Asian surname, he looks Asian, and he wouldn't stand out in a crowd.

I also want to point out that what the killer was wearing is interesting. He appears to be wearing very Japanese-esque fashion in my opinion. I know others have pointed out that Americans could also wear that in Japan, especially those with ties to Japan, however I've been to Japan myself as well as watched countless of videos. His fashion sense is very, very Japanese (the hat, the jacket, the scarf, the handkerchief, the gloves, the possibly thrifted shoes). You can see Japanese youth/young adults wear similar fashions even today. I'd say one notable way to differentiate Asian Americans and Asians proper is by fashion sense. Meanwhile, as I went through the Yokota airbase yearbooks and other pictures, pretty much all the teenagers are dressed in a very American fashion. It's not the specific brands or clothing that matter, but the way the killer coordinated his fit just feels so Japanese to me. JMO.

 

[Charlot123]

The question of how the killer was able to kill a family of 4, armed only with a knife, without disturbing the family adjacent to the home, has bothered me since first listening to Faceless. I can't speak for Nic, but it seems he's felt the same. I have a plausible theory.

A close friend of mine, unaware of this case, is a former high school wrestling coach. I simply asked him, "If there was a slightly built family of 4, do you think one of your students could subdue them?" His answer without pause was, "Easily. He could probably even take out 4 people with your (average) build."

Then I asked him if he thought an experienced wrestler could subdue them quietly. As we know, the adjacent family states they heard nothing, besides a thud they assume was the ladder. Again, without pausing, he said "I don't get into choke holds. They're too violent. But, if he used the right choke hold, definitely."

I also asked about anger issues. He told me a LOT of wrestlers have rage issues. Many have violent tendencies.

Per Yokoto yearbooks....While a few Yokoto AFB students are shown wearing bucket hats similar to the one the killer left behind, it in no way implicates them. Yokoto AFB had a skate park, just as there was one adjacent the Miyazawa home. A few Yokoto AFB students are wrestlers, with apparent rage issues. At least one brags about his expertise in choke holds. Clearly, all of this is circumstantial, and doesn't implicate anyone. However, to me as a whole, it solidifies Nic's opinion the killer was the son of Yokoto AFB military.

Just a different case, recent, in Britain, where two young women, 22 and 28 and their 61-year-old mother were zip-tied and shot using a crossbow. The neighbors (in a densely populated area) heard something that they interpreted as "a child crying." Nothing more. So I think there may be the factor of misinterpreting the sounds, too. It happens all the time.

I wonder how easy it would be to climb the window, noiselessly, though. That sound comes from the outside and probably ought to have been heard. Hence I wonder what was the real entry route.

About the rest - Rei could be incapacitated soundlessly. We don't know how Mikio was killed. Choked first? Or maybe, kept in a chokehold from the back/throat slashed? The knife broke, meaning, it had to be involved...but yet Wiki says, per Hanako, that the scene was not horribly bloody?

Choking causes another problems (loosening sphincters.)

That raises a different question. Smell of blood, urine, feces...does the killer suffer from anosmia or nasal polyps or something drastically worsening his smell? Because if he stayed and ate ice cream there afterwards...here we are, discussing his food preferences, but can any normal young person stand the smell of four murders? Maybe he overused Drakkar for that reason?

I am linking conditions that may cause anosmia. I used to know an otherwise healthy person with anosmia; they jokingly told us to warn them should they be sweaty and not feel it. Given this, maybe the murderer overused Drakkar because he had the same inability to tell if his sweat would be bothersome to others? That's something people around him might notice.

Loss of smell (anosmia) Causes

A stuffy nose is one cause of this symptom. Learn about other causes and when it might be serious.

www.mayoclinic.org

In the shoes of TMPD, I'd sequence the killer's DNA, it is about 2K today, and run for genetic conditions. We may know more this way.

 

[FlowersInBloom]

I also want to point out that what the killer was wearing is interesting. He appears to be wearing very Japanese-esque fashion in my opinion. I know others have pointed out that Americans could also wear that in Japan, especially those with ties to Japan, however I've been to Japan myself as well as watched countless of videos. His fashion sense is very, very Japanese (the hat, the jacket, the scarf, the handkerchief, the gloves, the possibly thrifted shoes). You can see Japanese youth/young adults wear similar fashions even today. I'd say one notable way to differentiate Asian Americans and Asians proper is by fashion sense. Meanwhile, as I went through the Yokota airbase yearbooks and other pictures, pretty much all the teenagers are dressed in a very American fashion. It's not the specific brands or clothing that matter, but the way the killer coordinated his fit just feels so Japanese to me. JMO.

On this point here about his clothing… if the killer were to be from the base and the murder was pre-meditated, wearing any single item of clothing bought on base that could link back there would have him sussed out in a hot minute. I like to think the killer thought about this… and planned his outfit accordingly. I agree here the outfit looks very Japanese to me too though I’m no expert. Just from what I’ve seen in pictures and videos.

Maybe one of the reasons he felt he could leave almost his entire outfit behind was that it had no link to his life on the base and were just regular clothes found out in Japan and Tokyo?
It did strike me as weird he’d leave his bag behind too… clothing covered in blood, sure, dump that and change… but the bag too? Why? I feel like he had some confidence there at least a little bit…

JMO on the foreign male theory.

 

[Charlot123]

I strongly believe the father is most certainly of Asian origin (either NE Asian or SE Asian).

Here, people upload their haplogroups to spread and share information and you can see the most common origins. O-M122 YTree

I could be wrong, of course. Maybe the killer belongs to the rare 1% of people who aren't Asian and have this specific paternal haplogroup. I am iffy about the maternal haplogroup being taken to mean that his mother is foreign and he is of mixed race, but with the paternal haplogroup I am nearly 99% certain it indicates his father is Asian. The killer may not be mixed at all.

Overall, I definitely agree with you. I think he has an Asian surname, he looks Asian, and he wouldn't stand out in a crowd.

I also want to point out that what the killer was wearing is interesting. He appears to be wearing very Japanese-esque fashion in my opinion. I know others have pointed out that Americans could also wear that in Japan, especially those with ties to Japan, however I've been to Japan myself as well as watched countless of videos. His fashion sense is very, very Japanese (the hat, the jacket, the scarf, the handkerchief, the gloves, the possibly thrifted shoes). You can see Japanese youth/young adults wear similar fashions even today. I'd say one notable way to differentiate Asian Americans and Asians proper is by fashion sense. Meanwhile, as I went through the Yokota airbase yearbooks and other pictures, pretty much all the teenagers are dressed in a very American fashion. It's not the specific brands or clothing that matter, but the way the killer coordinated his fit just feels so Japanese to me. JMO.

I feel that you are right. One of the reason he has not been caught is that TMPD was asking if anyone noticed anything unusual in Setagaya that night. I think the murderer looked and behaved very usual and hence, totally flew under the radar. He might have been taller than the Miyazawas, but not a giant, either.

An Asian surname is one of the reasons I am not looking through Yokota schoolbooks. Many Koreans have the same, or very similar, last names. Perhaps it is also the translation factor, but given how many Koreans live in my area, I don't want to ask myself if someone is a remote relative...you understand.

With Asian last names, the difference may be lost in translation, but the same principle should apply. JMO.

Lastly, the reason we suspect a foreign male is 1) because TMPD thought so; 2) because we know little about the Miyazawas themselves. I think the guy had to have some knowledge about the Ms. If he observed them when sitting/skating in the park, he had to look like the general public.

 

[Hausos]

Lastly, the reason we suspect a foreign male is 1) because TMPD thought so; 2) because we know little about the Miyazawas themselves. I think the guy had to have some knowledge about the Ms. If he observed them when sitting/skating in the park, he had to look like the general public.

The TMPD actually requested Wikipedia to take down the information regarding the killer's haplogroups. They never outright stated they believe the suspect to be a foreign male. It is simply something that is theorized on the Internet by people based on some information given.

About the Miyazawa family, we just don't know anything about the family at all besides images and anecdotes we were presented with... by immediate family members themselves. Family typically doesn't like to portray other family in a bad light. Who knows? Maybe what we heard from people in the area is true and Mikio argued with/scolded youth in the area quite often? Maybe he did have some shady dealings or history with people?

If that is true, then it's quite possible this is a rage-killing. I will add on to this and say that rage-killings in Japan are overrepresented in Japan (however the overall crime rate is indeed one of the lowest). Perfectly fine and civil people acting out in complete rage and committing horrifying acts. For example, there was a story in Japan in which an elderly man got mad at his elderly female neighbor for telling him to not feed the stray cats that wound wander into their yards, as she didn't want the stray cats there. His response? This man with no prior history becomes extremely angry and stabs her repeatedly to death. There's also cases where Japanese youth (who would be described as pleasant and civil) randomly lash out at their parents/society. Another infamous case is Satoshi Uematsu. Everyone described him as a friendly, outgoing, and "good" man with no troubling prior history yet he performed one of the most brutal mass killings in Japanese history. I suspect this may have something to do with Japan's culture, where saving face and conformity is very much emphasized. When they get snubbed or rebuked, even in a minor way, they react even more strongly.

With that being said, I do not think Rei was the main target at all. I just think he was "in the way".

I will also say that committing this type of crime is not very common for foreigners in Japan. Foreign criminals typically commit burglaries, or sexually assault their victims (as seen by military personnel in Okinawa). I think if a foreigner committed the Miyazawa murders, it would have to come from a place of deep rage or possible thrill. I don't think this person committed crimes again, and people that commit such murders for the thrill typically re-offend so I believe rage is the most likely answer. Anger... but why? That is the question.

 

[FlowersInBloom]

@Hausos for me personally the foreign male angle isn’t just based on some information given on the internet, it is due the sheer amount of evidence left behind and circumstances of the aftermath and not one suspect arrested in 23 years…

He left his clothing, blood, fingerprints, feces, hair, saliva, teeth marks… 16,000 pieces of evidence were collected in that house, he murdered 4 people… and in 23 years he’s never been found. With hundreds of thousands of officers assigned to the case, millions fingerprinted, even logged with Interpol. Nothing.
Even if he killed himself after I still feel like the chance of his body being discovered in 23 years would at least be likely? But still… nothing.

For me personally I feel like he left Japan very soon after and never committed a crime ever again or had to do anything that meant his fingerprints were taken. Even as I type this I don’t know if that’s possible to avoid for your whole life.

But if he was Japanese, or still in Japan… I don’t know, I just feel like he would have been found by now. Or there’d be something more. Saying that, I do believe the TMPD knows much, much more than the information that has been released…

All JMO here! And just as a side note, this isn’t the only theory I’m leaning towards but it is the one with the strongest possibility for me.

 

[TokyoSleuth]

The neighbors (in a densely populated area) heard something that they interpreted as "a child crying." Nothing more. So I think there may be the factor of misinterpreting the sounds, too. It happens all the time.

Completely understand your point but I don't think it's a valuable comparison purely based on my experience living in both UK and Japanese houses.

The current apartment I live in is only 3 years old, built with modern materials and sound proofing. The apartment building next to us has a gap between the walls of around 5 meters. Even in the winter when all windows and balcony doors are closed, I can hear kids playing in that apartment building. Screams of play and screams of distress are definitely easy to confuse through two walls and 5 meters, but the screams would still be heard in some form.

So if the neighbors had said they didn't hear any suspicious sounds then I'd agree it might just be misinterpretation of crying, but the fact that they reported only hearing the thud is what doesn't sit right with me.

 

[Cryptic]

@Cryptic my question was more of a broader one and not targeting any one particular post, but thank you for bringing yours to my attention as I hadn’t actually read those

Please accept my sincere apology for my rather shrill counter post.

The theory I’m talking about here is a Korean-American on a base in Japan though, not a Korean national living in Japan or one born in South Korea. Specifically an American man.

I think the totality of the evidence diminishes this possibility, though it is clearly possible. This totality includes:

- Perpetrator's ability to speak and read Japanese: Most US servicemen, of any ethnic group, simply dont develop truly measurable language skills in regards to the host nation's language.

- Location of the crime: Most US servicemen dont spend alot of time seeking out "off the beaten path" places in host nations. Rather, they tend to haunt the usual spots visited by other US servicemen.

- Clothing of the perpetrator: Clothing appears near entirely to be Japanese and Asian market items. Most US servicemen shop US brands at the PX.

- Food Choice of the Perpetrator (exclusively Asian diet recently). A good many north east Asian (Korean, Chinese and Japanese) US servicemen have been the US for generations. As a result, most lean towards US foods. Even first generation born in the US people can (others do not) lose their heritage food preferences as they grow up.

There are, of course, exception to these general rules above. But, the totality does not vibe US serviceman to me. Rather, horrendous crimes perpetrated by US servicemen almost always read similar to: "2 Prostitutes Rage Stabbed in Night Club District".

As a side note, there were a small number of families on the bases that I lived at in Germany that had, in Army slang, "homesteaded" via extended tours. They lived off base, spoke German, ate German foods, and went to German schools and German places. Likewise some servicemen developed an affinity for the host country on their own that would include doing things most US servicemen do not.

But.... these exceptions were few in number.

 

[FlowersInBloom]

@Cryptic not a problem, I could also be much clearer in my posts but I’m new around here and learning as I go so thanks for your understanding.

I think the totality of the evidence diminishes this possibility, though it is clearly possible. This totality includes:

- Perpetrator's ability to speak and read Japanese: Most US servicemen, of any ethnic group, simply dont develop truly measurable language skills in regards to the host nation's language.

- Location of the crime: Most US servicemen dont spend alot of time seeking out "off the beaten path" places in host nations. Rather, they tend to haunt the usual spots visited by other US servicemen.

- Clothing of the perpetrator: Clothing appears near entirely to be Japanese and Asian market items. Most US servicemen shop US brands at the PX.

- Food Choice of the Perpetrator (exclusively Asian diet recently). A good many north east Asian (Korean, Chinese and Japanese) US servicemen have been the US for generations. As a result, most lean towards US foods. Even first generation born in the US people can (others do not) lose their heritage food preferences as they grow up.

There are, of course, exception to these general rules above. But, the totality does not vibe US serviceman to me. Rather, horrendous crimes perpetrated by US servicemen almost always read similar to: "2 Prostitutes Rage Stabbed in Night Club District".

As a side note, there were a small number of families on the bases that I lived at in Germany that had, in Army slang, "homesteaded" via extended tours. They spoke German, ate German foods, and went to German places. Likewise some servicemen developed an affinity for the host country on their own that would include doing things most US servicemen do not.

But.... these exceptions were few in number.

In these cases… what if we switched the idea of ‘US serviceman’ to ‘son of a serviceman’, and ‘man’ to ‘teenager’ that was in school on the base. In your opinion, would that change any of your outlooks here?

Thanks for your reply!

 

[FlowersInBloom]

Completely understand your point but I don't think it's a valuable comparison purely based on my experience living in both UK and Japanese houses.

The current apartment I live in is only 3 years old, built with modern materials and sound proofing. The apartment building next to us has a gap between the walls of around 5 meters. Even in the winter when all windows and balcony doors are closed, I can hear kids playing in that apartment building. Screams of play and screams of distress are definitely easy to confuse through two walls and 5 meters, but the screams would still be heard in some form.

So if the neighbors had said they didn't hear any suspicious sounds then I'd agree it might just be misinterpretation of crying, but the fact that they reported only hearing the thud is what doesn't sit right with me.

Seconded… reading through these threads there seems to be a lot of posters here that are unsatisfied with the answers about the noise…

Was it confirmed anywhere that the family only said they heard the one noise? One bang and nothing else at all?

 

[BatataPoha]

My anecdote here: I was unlucky enough to come across a video of a man defending his store from a thief on Twitter (that website is a cesspool these days of shock videos).

The store owner defended his store from the thief with a frenzied knife attack. Both men were average build and the same height. Once the store owner began stabbing the thief quickly enough in the legs, arms, back, and then neck, he went limp and collapsed to the floor in about 5 seconds. It didn’t take long at all. The thief fought back but didn’t have a weapon he could get to.

Even if the killer didn’t have any other expertise in such things as wrestling or choke holds I believe with enough quick, frenzied stabbing with the knives the family went down without much of a chance. I think it was mentioned the killer was deemed to be taller than both Mikio and Yasuko right? I remember reading Mikio was a rather short guy without much of a build on him…
Add the element of surprise and a mother taking care of her sick child and I can see why he achieved it… though he did get injured in the process.

Seconded.

Infact, I might go on and further state that the inefficient way he grapples with Mikio despite having the higher ground advantage and then after his attack in the attic, he goes back to get a 2nd knife instead of going one on one with an injured lady and a young girl seems to indicate this as someone not very confident of attacking people without a knife, despite all the rage and ferocity.

I doubt he had any skills in going up against ppl one on one.

 

[BatataPoha]

Seconded… reading through these threads there seems to be a lot of posters here that are unsatisfied with the answers about the noise…

Was it confirmed anywhere that the family only said they heard the one noise? One bang and nothing else at all?

Yup. @FacelessPodcast confirmed it. One thud, reported by the boy in the neighbour’s house.

Nic in his own experiments has said that sound flows freely through the Miyazawa house. And they did some poor soundproofing to stop the flow of sounds from one house to another.

And yet, just one sound all night.

 

[BatataPoha]

Please accept my sincere apology for my rather shrill counter post.


I think the totality of the evidence diminishes this possibility, though it is clearly possible. This totality includes:

- Perpetrator's ability to speak and read Japanese: Most US servicemen, of any ethnic group, simply dont develop truly measurable language skills in regards to the host nation's language.

- Location of the crime: Most US servicemen dont spend alot of time seeking out "off the beaten path" places in host nations. Rather, they tend to haunt the usual spots visited by other US servicemen.

- Clothing of the perpetrator: Clothing appears near entirely to be Japanese and Asian market items. Most US servicemen shop US brands at the PX.

- Food Choice of the Perpetrator (exclusively Asian diet recently). A good many north east Asian (Korean, Chinese and Japanese) US servicemen have been the US for generations. As a result, most lean towards US foods. Even first generation born in the US people can (others do not) lose their heritage food preferences as they grow up.

There are, of course, exception to these general rules above. But, the totality does not vibe US serviceman to me. Rather, horrendous crimes perpetrated by US servicemen almost always read similar to: "2 Prostitutes Rage Stabbed in Night Club District".

As a side note, there were a small number of families on the bases that I lived at in Germany that had, in Army slang, "homesteaded" via extended tours. They lived off base, spoke German, ate German foods, and went to German schools and German places. Likewise some servicemen developed an affinity for the host country on their own that would include doing things most US servicemen do not.

But.... these exceptions were few in number.

Most of this is generalization, but I would still state some obvious fallacies here.

1) No clear indication the killer speaks Japanese.

2) The house is not on some off the beaten path.

3) This crime is a planned kill. How long it was planned for, we don’t know. But no one randomly comes with that attire and a knife and two hankies without the intention to kill. So I dunno why anyone would assume the clothes are the killer’s regular clothes and not some red herring?

Do CIA operatives plant the American flag after a covert operation? Or drop a Nike sneaker haul? No.

It is very likely the killer always meant to dispose off his clothes, hence the ease with which he left them behind knowing it cannot possibly be traced back to him. There is a strong possibility that he was dressing up to allay suspicions, instead of wearing his regular clothes.

4) Food choice is again a weird argument. I don’t think you can get any meaningful insight from one single meal. Even tourists go to other countries and try the local cuisine, and Americans regularly eat foods of all ethnicities even in their home countries. This argument isn’t very meaningful.

I should add that I am quite open to the killer being a random Japanese guy. Nothing ties this to a foreigner with any clear certainty. But your points, to me atleast, don’t justify that hypothesis

 

[Sor Juana]

Interesting point Sor Juana! The prevailing belief appears to be that the killer may be related to military personnel, and possibly the Yokota airbase as it's the closest airbase in the area. I was actually looking at SE Asian populations. Aside from China, Korea, and Japan; the paternal haplogroup the killer has is also seen overwhelmingly in SE Asia, and in particular, the Philippines. Interestingly enough, the Yokota yearbooks had a lot of Filipino or half-Filipino teenagers.

I never truly delved into the case but I've certainly kept up with it because I wanted to see it resolved for the Miyazawa family. I always believed that the killer was a wholly Japanese youth who never committed another crime again, hence why he can't be found. The hip bag was always a red herring in my mind. There are so many thrift stores, small shops, marketplaces, etcetera in Japan. He could have possibly bought the bag from someone or someone may have gifted it to him. Whilst the sand had links to America, the other items in the bag had links to Japan. Only recently have I looked more closely into the foreigner angle.

I think I began to appreciate the foreigner angle more and more as I read through a lot of theories/thoughts about the evidence presented. In particular, I am painstakingly curious about Faceless's POI. I don't understand why the TMPD seems to be more than happy to inform the public about the details of the case, even oversharing, yet become more tight-lipped when it comes to the sand/deeper investigations into the sand's origins. Like I said, I thought the sand in the hip bag was a red herring, but the TMPD's reaction and mysteriousness surrounding the sand is rather confusing and threw me off. I also don't understand why An Irie does not care much about opening the home to further DNA investigations. Both of this... makes me think...
Basically, we all know how Japan is diplomatically. Especially with the US.

Truthfully, if the DNA was examined more thoroughly, the case may have been solved a long time ago. If the prevailing hunch is correct, the killer would have many relatives with foreign names in his extended line. It would point to a specific region. It is frustrating we have everything we need to solve the case but bureaucracy is keeping true justice stifled. It almost seems insulting for the victims, frankly.

Japan also had Filipino immigrants in the 1990s. Many worked in the entertainment industry as singers and dancers, often facilitated by "entertainer visas." Others had employment in caregiving roles due to Japan's aging population, in domestic work, and in factories or manual labour (e.g. fish cutting). Some also came through the Technical Intern Training Program, which allowed them to work in various industries like agriculture and construction. These workers filled labour shortages. What's intriguing about this angle is that Filipinos also experienced centuries of Spanish rule, resulting in a new, though informal, ethnic group of Filipinos with Spanish ancestry and Spanish surnames. If you add to this a handkerchief with a hole, you open up another scenario involving a Filipino migrant supported by a few pieces of evidence.

Regarding the TMPD, talking their handling of the sand issue and communication strategy makes me uneasy, especially when there are insinuations about their integrity. They disclose information as they deem necessary to protect the integrity of the investigation. It's not about being tight-lipped; it's standard operational practice for police to keep crucial details confidential. Discussing technical matters like sand composition with non-experts in public wouldn't serve any purpose. TMPD likely engages with experts to obtain precise answers.

There isn't much mystery about the sand because there's limited information available. They've narrowed the location to areas in the Mojave Desert, a vast region that includes an airbase and sand mines. I previously shared a geological map illustrating the diverse soils and sands in California, highlighting the approximate nature of their findings. The media's connection of the sand in the bag to the desert is more probabilistic than deterministic; it shares chemical similarities with the sand found in that California area, but it doesn't conclusively originate from there according to forensic standards.

Furthermore, the water hardness in Yokota is mild to moderate, which 'suggests' the perpetrator may have meticulously laundered his clothes in the hard water of Okinawa. It's worth noting that Okinawa hosts another military base, which could add a layer of conspiracy complexity to this scenario. However, while not impossible, I am more interested in other scenarios.

I completely agree regarding the DNA issues. However, even if the analysis provides a fuller profile of the killer, it may not bring the investigation any closer to locating him, especially if he is overseas. Japan would need to undertake a huge administrative effort to coordinate with another country, which can be challenging and time-consuming.

 

[FlowersInBloom]

Yup. @FacelessPodcast confirmed it. One thud, reported by the boy in the neighbour’s house.

Nic in his own experiments has said that sound flows freely through the Miyazawa house. And they did some poor soundproofing to stop the flow of sounds from one house to another.

And yet, just one sound all night.

If I recall correctly… the house next door had the two parents, the grandma and the son, and the house directly opposite was also occupied too. And only one bang through the entire thing?

That’s… quite something.

It’s possible to sleep through all the noise if the TV is on or you’ve taken medicine for sleep or something I guess? Astounding nothing else was apparently heard though I’ve gotta say.

 

[Charlot123]

Completely understand your point but I don't think it's a valuable comparison purely based on my experience living in both UK and Japanese houses.

The current apartment I live in is only 3 years old, built with modern materials and sound proofing. The apartment building next to us has a gap between the walls of around 5 meters. Even in the winter when all windows and balcony doors are closed, I can hear kids playing in that apartment building. Screams of play and screams of distress are definitely easy to confuse through two walls and 5 meters, but the screams would still be heard in some form.

So if the neighbors had said they didn't hear any suspicious sounds then I'd agree it might just be misinterpretation of crying, but the fact that they reported only hearing the thud is what doesn't sit right with me.

OK it doesn't sit right with me either, but the neighbors have been cleared, so we have to proceed from here.

But proceesing from our intuitive feeling. Imagine another option. The neighbors did hear something, but thought it was a quarrel, a spousal argument. The next day, they found the truth. Imagine the guilt, the shame, the sadness. This situation could lead to "hearing nothing but one loud thud."

 

[Charlot123]

Japan also had Filipino immigrants in the 1990s. Many worked in the entertainment industry as singers and dancers, often facilitated by "entertainer visas." Others had employment in caregiving roles due to Japan's aging population, in domestic work, and in factories or manual labour (e.g. fish cutting). Some also came through the Technical Intern Training Program, which allowed them to work in various industries like agriculture and construction. These workers filled labour shortages. What's intriguing about this angle is that Filipinos also experienced centuries of Spanish rule, resulting in a new, though informal, ethnic group of Filipinos with Spanish ancestry and Spanish surnames. If you add to this a handkerchief with a hole, you open up another scenario involving a Filipino migrant supported by a few pieces of evidence.

Regarding the TMPD, talking their handling of the sand issue and communication strategy makes me uneasy, especially when there are insinuations about their integrity. They disclose information as they deem necessary to protect the integrity of the investigation. It's not about being tight-lipped; it's standard operational practice for police to keep crucial details confidential. Discussing technical matters like sand composition with non-experts in public wouldn't serve any purpose. TMPD likely engages with experts to obtain precise answers.

There isn't much mystery about the sand because there's limited information available. They've narrowed the location to areas in the Mojave Desert, a vast region that includes an airbase and sand mines. I previously shared a geological map illustrating the diverse soils and sands in California, highlighting the approximate nature of their findings. The media's connection of the sand in the bag to the desert is more probabilistic than deterministic; it shares chemical similarities with the sand found in that California area, but it doesn't conclusively originate from there according to forensic standards.

Furthermore, the water hardness in Yokota is mild to moderate, which 'suggests' the perpetrator may have meticulously laundered his clothes in the hard water of Okinawa. It's worth noting that Okinawa hosts another military base, which could add a layer of conspiracy complexity to this scenario. However, while not impossible, I am more interested in other scenarios.

I completely agree regarding the DNA issues. However, even if the analysis provides a fuller profile of the killer, it may not bring the investigation any closer to locating him, especially if he is overseas. Japan would need to undertake a huge administrative effort to coordinate with another country, which can be challenging and time-consuming.

They may have the DNA "tell" them about the killer.
My position is obvious. Japan has just adopted new immigration laws. How many years do you give them to realize that their privacy laws don't apply anymore? 5, 10? I think, till the first violent case. That will change everything.

 

[FlowersInBloom]

They may have the DNA "tell" them about the killer.
My position is obvious. Japan has just adopted new immigration laws. How many years do you give them to realize that their privacy laws don't apply anymore? 5, 10? I think, till the first violent case. That will change everything.

Do you mean this in the case of foreigners going to Japan? Since 2007 (I think it was!) all visitors and those going to Japan to work or study, etc, are fingerprinted at immigration before being allowed to pass through on the first time they enter the country.
Or do you mean this in another scenario?

Edit: I believe their photograph is taken too.