A bit like
@Incoherent, the recent weather in Japan has led to me staying inside and doing a deep dive on this and other cases.
What's really sad is that this case is not actually that unique. There are a huge number of cases in Japan involving brutal attacks with knives (often sushi knives) as well as abductions on seemingly random targets. Of those that are solved, many were deemed crimes of "pleasure" and opportunity where the killer did what they did for sheer enjoyment and simply happened to choose those targets. Actually just in the last 5 years there have been multiple cases of individuals going on random stabbing sprees with a knife, one of these at an elementary school bus stop. It's another reason I lean towards the idea the killer is local. The Chief's assertion that the nature of the crimes makes it unlikely the killer is 'Culturally Japanese' as stated on the podcast, just simply does not line up with the history in Japan of vicious knife attacks.
I feel like in Japan it is true that crime is low when it comes to random muggings and theft/burglary, but when someone decides they do want to cause harm, they do it full on.
Something that is really sad is that up until 2005, there was a statute of limitations on murder of 15 years. This means that there are a huge number of unsolved murders and disappearances in Japan which are officially closed, and even if the killer came forward today, they would not be prosecuted. This was extended to 20 years in 2005, and eventually abolished in 2010. So one shine of hope in this case is that should the killer be identified, the family will be able to get justice unlike so many other families.