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

[Sillybilly]

Mikio Miyazawa 44, wife Yasuko 41, Niina 8, and Rei 6

"All four were brutally murdered on December 30, 2000 in a crime that shocked Japan and began a grim new chapter in the country's criminal history.

Police know so much about the killer — everything except who he is and why he committed such a violent crime.

He left his DNA everywhere.
He left clothes at the scene.
He left the murder weapon.
He used the victims' computer.
He ate at least four ice creams from their freezer.
And he stayed inside the house for hours as the family lay dead.

Almost 250,000 investigators have worked on this case, receiving more than 15,000 tip-offs from the public.

But nearly two decades later, officers are seemingly no closer to solving a crime that is extremely rare in this largely peaceful country.

[...]"

Please welcome our new verified Websleuths member, FacelessPodcast, a published author who is researching and producing a podcast on NBC Universal about this horrific, unsolved crime. Hopefully some day the brutal killer of this family can be caught and brought to justice.

If FacelessPodcast wishes to share their personal identity, we'll leave it to them to do so.

Thank you to everyone for being here to discuss this case and hopefully help catch this killer. It's been far too long.

Thread #1 Thread #2 Thread #3

 

[Sillybilly]

As a Verified Author who is familiar with this case, FacelessPodcast is not required to provide links to what they state about their knowledge of this case.

As always, please treat our Verified member with respect at all times. Of course you may ask questions, but if you disagree with something they have to contribute, please don't argue with them or challenge them. Just remain the polite, respectful bunch that we know you to be

ETA: For sleuthing purposes, this case is referred to as both the Miyazawa family murders and the Setagaya family murders.

 

[Knitty]

Please continue here.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Thread Number 4! It’s certainly been a ride, guys. I’ve very much appreciated all your thoughts and ideas.

 

[dotr]

2022

Police advised to rethink motive and opportunity in unsolved Setagaya family murder case

In a patently inauspicious start to the new millennium, Tokyo newspapers on the morning of January 1, 2001 ran front-page headlines about a horrifying fin de siecle crime: the slaying of a family of four in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward two days earlier. Mid-morning on Dec 31, the bodies of businessman…

japantoday.com

'Based on evidence at the crime scene, the suspect was a young male in his late teens or early 20s, of slender build and medium height. He left behind his fingerprints, DNA, shoe prints, and personal items. Police were confident this wealth of forensic and material evidence would enable them to track down the culprit in short order.

The killer's DNA turned out to be particularly unusual as he appeared to have European ancestry on his mother's side. Other DNA markers suggested a possible link to either China or Korea. In the folds of a carrying pouch he left behind were grains of sand of a type not found in Japan.'

 

[StorieswithO]

Someone must have seen something...
One can't leave that many evidence without getting seen.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

2022

Police advised to rethink motive and opportunity in unsolved Setagaya family murder case

In a patently inauspicious start to the new millennium, Tokyo newspapers on the morning of January 1, 2001 ran front-page headlines about a horrifying fin de siecle crime: the slaying of a family of four in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward two days earlier. Mid-morning on Dec 31, the bodies of businessman…

japantoday.com

View attachment 533055
'Based on evidence at the crime scene, the suspect was a young male in his late teens or early 20s, of slender build and medium height. He left behind his fingerprints, DNA, shoe prints, and personal items. Police were confident this wealth of forensic and material evidence would enable them to track down the culprit in short order.

The killer's DNA turned out to be particularly unusual as he appeared to have European ancestry on his mother's side. Other DNA markers suggested a possible link to either China or Korea. In the folds of a carrying pouch he left behind were grains of sand of a type not found in Japan.'

Lifted from my post on this from the start of the year in (admittedly exasperated) reply to the dearly departed former user ‘Dr. Snoop’:

‘I've written before about this article. Unfortunately, it's maybe one of the worst things out there I've read about this case. For one so short, it's totally laced with inaccuracies / assumptions based on misunderstandings. A less kind way of saying it: it's garbage. It basically boils down to, WRITER HAS OPINION. This is not news. Moreover, the opinions espoused are just bad IMO. I don't intend personal disrespect to Mr. Motohashi's but I can't find any other way of wording it.

To this day, the killer's motive remains elusive. Was it robbery? Investigators haven't ruled out that the killer might have stolen money from the Miyazawa home, but if so, the amount taken was not determined. Wrong. It has been determined. We know he took a certain amount but left a greater amount in the house. One of the many puzzles.

"Some have theorized that a person of foreign origin might have less compunction to killing members of a different racial or ethnic group, but unless more facts are known, such a theory can be no more than speculation." So, some people are small-minded racists? Again, this is not news. Nor is it relevant.

If the killer was economically deprived, perhaps some dispute over money with either Mikio or Yasuko Miyazawa may have moved him to seek revenge. Or maybe he didn't like their faces. Or people whose surnames start with M. This is a nothing. If he was economically deprived, how did he have a brand-new jacket, an expensive shirt, an expensive knife, French aftershave, and a full belly? Why he didn't take all the money and the valuables in the house?

"But thieves," Motohashi contends, "prefer to target houses that are easy to break into, not necessarily those that appear wealthy." What exactly was easy about the Miyazawa house for a robbery? Moreover, if it was a robbery, why did he enter at a time when the family were home? Why did he immediately murder a small, sleeping child? Why did he eat their ice cream and so on, so forth. Does the author know nothing about the case itself? Is he just riffing?

"Since the crime experts who analyze the Miyazawa case enjoy above-average economic status themselves, they may not be capable of fully grasping the psychology of a desperately needy person reacting on the spur of moment," Motohashi writes. With respect to Mr. Motohashi, I have personally met some of the people connected to this case. None of them were what I would describe as enjoying above-average economic status. Moreover, the idea that someone poor somehow exists on a different plane of desperation is frankly bordering on offensive. It also assumes that we know that the killer was either desperate, poor, or acting on the spur of the moment. We do not. It seems to me, if anyone may not be capable of fully grasping the realities of these murders, it is not the crime experts…’

 

[Incoherent]

"But thieves," Motohashi contends, "prefer to target houses that are easy to break into, not necessarily those that appear wealthy." What exactly was easy about the Miyazawa house for a robbery? Moreover, if it was a robbery, why did he enter at a time when the family were home? Why did he immediately murder a small, sleeping child? Why did he eat their ice cream and so on, so forth. Does the author know nothing about the case itself? Is he just riffing?

Professional robbery but entered a family home with the lights still on during the holidays and the neighbours still awake, when the family were out shopping earlier that evening and the house was empty. Can’t really call this guy anything close to a professional in anything. JMO.

 

[dotr]

Lifted from my post on this from the start of the year in (admittedly exasperated) reply to the dearly departed former user ‘Dr. Snoop’:

‘I've written before about this article. Unfortunately, it's maybe one of the worst things out there I've read about this case. For one so short, it's totally laced with inaccuracies / assumptions based on misunderstandings. A less kind way of saying it: it's garbage. It basically boils down to, WRITER HAS OPINION. This is not news. Moreover, the opinions espoused are just bad IMO. I don't intend personal disrespect to Mr. Motohashi's but I can't find any other way of wording it.

To this day, the killer's motive remains elusive. Was it robbery? Investigators haven't ruled out that the killer might have stolen money from the Miyazawa home, but if so, the amount taken was not determined. Wrong. It has been determined. We know he took a certain amount but left a greater amount in the house. One of the many puzzles.

"Some have theorized that a person of foreign origin might have less compunction to killing members of a different racial or ethnic group, but unless more facts are known, such a theory can be no more than speculation." So, some people are small-minded racists? Again, this is not news. Nor is it relevant.

If the killer was economically deprived, perhaps some dispute over money with either Mikio or Yasuko Miyazawa may have moved him to seek revenge. Or maybe he didn't like their faces. Or people whose surnames start with M. This is a nothing. If he was economically deprived, how did he have a brand-new jacket, an expensive shirt, an expensive knife, French aftershave, and a full belly? Why he didn't take all the money and the valuables in the house?

"But thieves," Motohashi contends, "prefer to target houses that are easy to break into, not necessarily those that appear wealthy." What exactly was easy about the Miyazawa house for a robbery? Moreover, if it was a robbery, why did he enter at a time when the family were home? Why did he immediately murder a small, sleeping child? Why did he eat their ice cream and so on, so forth. Does the author know nothing about the case itself? Is he just riffing?

"Since the crime experts who analyze the Miyazawa case enjoy above-average economic status themselves, they may not be capable of fully grasping the psychology of a desperately needy person reacting on the spur of moment," Motohashi writes. With respect to Mr. Motohashi, I have personally met some of the people connected to this case. None of them were what I would describe as enjoying above-average economic status. Moreover, the idea that someone poor somehow exists on a different plane of desperation is frankly bordering on offensive. It also assumes that we know that the killer was either desperate, poor, or acting on the spur of the moment. We do not. It seems to me, if anyone may not be capable of fully grasping the realities of these murders, it is not the crime experts…’

Sorry about that, was just really going for the pic. n' quip in order to subscribe to thread.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Sorry about that, was just really going for the pic. n' quip in order to subscribe to thread.

No, I totally get that, @dotr. I know it wasn’t a tacit endorsement of the piece. Japan-based users here can say with more authority but I’m fairly sure this particular newspaper isn’t hugely prestigious… Edit; to add wasn’t

 

[Incoherent]

No, I totally get that, @dotr. I know it wasn’t a tacit endorsement of the piece. Japan-based users here can say with more authority but I’m fairly sure this particular newspaper isn’t hugely prestigious… Edit; to add wasn’t

It’s probably the worst English language news website about Japan out there for many reasons!

 

[Lalalacasbah]

Post in thread 'Japan - Miyazawa family of 4 murdered, Setagaya, Tokyo, 30 Dec 2000 #3'

Monday at 12:49 AM

This is a great lead.
Did the Miyazawas go there specifically on December 30 or previously?

If that's really the case, I wonder if the killer just casually picked them that day at Ogikubo and followed them or he had previously saw them there and planned it even further back in time.

If he did pick them that day it could very well be he studied the route, went back and then acted the night.

I am unsure about why or when the Miyazawas were in Ogikubo. Nic may have an answer for that, but he has said the family were definitely there.

I suspect that he could have followed the family...

• Incoherent

• 

I hope I'm doing this right, trying to review and reply about @Incoherent's post in thread #3

Does @FacelessPodcast know why the Miyazawas were in Ogikubo? As Incoherant mentioned: Nic may have an answer for that, but he has said the family were definitely there.

And thank you Incoherent for doing an amazing breakdown! To review:

1. Theorized route: Ogikubo > Shinjuku > Chitose Karasuyama or Seijo Gakuenmae
2. There's a building attached to Ogikubo station called Town Seven that housed/sold almost everything the killer had
3. Supply List/Purchases:
* Tshirt, hat, gloves - Marufuru, 4th floor (now closed)
* Handkerchiefs - Muji, 2nd floor
* Hip bag - Marche, 2nd floor (now closed)
* Knife - Seiyu, 5th floor (exactly where I found it still there a few days ago)
* Jacket - Uniqlo, 3rd floor (not listed on the poster but it is there)

My thoughts/questions:
1. So Ogikubo is the epicentre it seems? Where would they cross paths there?
2. I'm assuming all the workers/employees at Town Seven (sales persons, janitors, etc.) were interviewed and ruled out? Did the family ever go to that store?
3. The hip bag was sold from September 1995 through January 1999 - would I want to be a fly on the wall during those years to see who the purchasers were from that store. I imagine no video cameras then nor would the footage still be availalbe and assuming TMPD reviewed ALL the purchase transactions.

All MOO

 

[Lalalacasbah]

Ok looks like I somehow got Eliver's post AND Incoherent's reply when I tried to bring the post over! Oh well, not going to touch it now and mess it up haha

 

[Lalalacasbah]

One more thought/question to my last huge post

What other stores/businesses would have been at Town Seven in 2000? Were there any restaurants the family may have eaten at? Other stores they would have frequented? I am going to try to look online.

 

[Incoherent]

Post in thread 'Japan - Miyazawa family of 4 murdered, Setagaya, Tokyo, 30 Dec 2000 #3'

Monday at 12:49 AM

This is a great lead.
Did the Miyazawas go there specifically on December 30 or previously?

If that's really the case, I wonder if the killer just casually picked them that day at Ogikubo and followed them or he had previously saw them there and planned it even further back in time.

If he did pick them that day it could very well be he studied the route, went back and then acted the night.

I am unsure about why or when the Miyazawas were in Ogikubo. Nic may have an answer for that, but he has said the family were definitely there.

I suspect that he could have followed the family...

• Incoherent

• 

I hope I'm doing this right, trying to review and reply about @Incoherent's post in thread #3

Does @FacelessPodcast know why the Miyazawas were in Ogikubo? As Incoherant mentioned: Nic may have an answer for that, but he has said the family were definitely there.

And thank you Incoherent for doing an amazing breakdown! To review:

1. Theorized route: Ogikubo > Shinjuku > Chitose Karasuyama or Seijo Gakuenmae
2. There's a building attached to Ogikubo station called Town Seven that housed/sold almost everything the killer had
3. Supply List/Purchases:
* Tshirt, hat, gloves - Marufuru, 4th floor (now closed)
* Handkerchiefs - Muji, 2nd floor
* Hip bag - Marche, 2nd floor (now closed)
* Knife - Seiyu, 5th floor (exactly where I found it still there a few days ago)
* Jacket - Uniqlo, 3rd floor (not listed on the poster but it is there)

My thoughts/questions:
1. So Ogikubo is the epicentre it seems? Where would they cross paths there?
2. I'm assuming all the workers/employees at Town Seven (sales persons, janitors, etc.) were interviewed and ruled out? Did the family ever go to that store?
3. The hip bag was sold from September 1995 through January 1999 - would I want to be a fly on the wall during those years to see who the purchasers were from that store. I imagine no video cameras then nor would the footage still be availalbe and assuming TMPD reviewed ALL the purchase transactions.

All MOO

There’s a lot I can’t answer here but some I can help out with.

1. Ogikubo is mostly residential. However it is very close to the centre of Tokyo and as such sees a large amount of traffic passing through it. Ogikubo has malls, restaurants, arcades, shops, karaoke, bowling alleys etc, all concentrated around the train station. It does not span wide and it is very concentrated, therefore it can become very busy and crowded. It is usual to see families shopping in Ogikubo.
The Miyazawas and the killer could have crossed paths anywhere in the area honestly. It is always filled with people doing something.

Two interesting things I can tell you about Ogikubo: it was the birthplace of fish bone ramen and is very famous for it, people travel into Ogikubo just to eat the authentic ramen.
It was also the station that the subway train initially departed from that was the scene of the Tokyo subway sarin gas attacks of 1995 by terrorist cult Aum Shinrikyo.

2. I assume so. Town Seven is a mall, but I can’t say if the Miyazawas ever went inside it. Likely if you are visiting Ogikubo to do shopping you will go inside it.

3. Well put it this way, the TMPD had CCTV of another man buying the same knife in a Seiyu one stop away from Ogikubo a few days before the murder. That man was not found and ruled out until around almost 20 years after the murders happened.
I am not very knowledgeable about CCTV etc back then, but if someone else is maybe they can weigh in. I assume it was scarce and of rather poor quality if a place even had it installed at all. Perhaps there was none to speak of. Or perhaps there was, and they did see a POI buying that hip bag but they could just never find him and have not released those details to the public.

One more thought/question to my last huge post

What other stores/businesses would have been at Town Seven in 2000? Were there any restaurants the family may have eaten at? Other stores they would have frequented? I am going to try to look online.

Ogikubo is packed with restaurants so really they could’ve eaten anywhere there.
As for the businesses in Town Seven back then, it might require a search in Japanese to find that information out. Let me know if you do find anything and if not I should be able to help out soon with the search.

 

[Eliver]

I have a question.
I scoured through the threads but couldn't find whether or not it was already covered.

Do we know if the killer left the house with the lights on or not?
If he did, what were the lights that were still on?
If he didn't, did he leave any traces on the light switches when turning them off?
Was there any mention of this from Yasuko's mother or the police?

I'm the first to admit that ultimately it doesn't make a whole lot of difference but surely it would further suggest his route throughout the house, and if he did switch them off it would be really weird that he would go through them all after not caring about leaving traces.

Like the entrance point, just something random that has been bothering me lately.

 

[Cryptic]

1. So Ogikubo is the epicentre it seems? Where would they cross paths there?

Ogikubo has malls, restaurants, arcades, shops, karaoke, bowling alleys etc,

Is Ogikubo a rough area?

I read somewhere once that the Japanese Yakuza had, or has an interest in pichenko (sp) parlors and perhaps other arcade type businesses as there can be a gambling aspect to the games.

To that end, and tossing out a possiblity:

- Mr. Miyazawa enjoys playing games with a gambling aspect. For him, its only recreation, he is not a problem gambler.

- One day, however, Mr. Miyazawa actually wins big at an Ogikubo parlor. He is then quickly informed by the unsavory employee that he did not truly win the "big one" due to a contrived reason or another. In the end, the final rule is that: Bobody ever truly wins big at Yakuza parlors.

- An argument ensues. Miyazawa has paid and played for years. Now, he actually won "the big one". He wants to be paid the full amount- no spins, no bs, no creativity, no.... .

- 'Dissed and fearful Yakuza group sanctions a "lesson" for Miyazawa. The flunky lesson giver, however,
goes way over the top- far beyond what the Yakuza group envisioned. They cant, however, turn in the killer as it would link them to the crime?

 

[Incoherent]

@Cryptic no Ogikubo isn’t a rough area at all.
In this case I was referring to arcades that have video games and UFO catchers and such, ones that kids and teens enjoy. The reason I mentioned it is because the killer’s scarf resembles a cheap arcade prize that someone could win and had no labels.

As for gambling, in the monetary sense, it is mostly illegal in Japan with very few exceptions. Back then almost strictly illegal. You cannot win money at pachinko, you can only win tickets that can be exchanged for prizes. What you do with that prize is up to you, but I’m unsure why Mikio would get into such an argument about tickets that he wouldn’t be able to be exchange for any prizes worth more than what his family’s evening meal cost.

 

[Charlot123]

I have a question.
I scoured through the threads but couldn't find whether or not it was already covered.

Do we know if the killer left the house with the lights on or not?
If he did, what were the lights that were still on?
If he didn't, did he leave any traces on the light switches when turning them off?
Was there any mention of this from Yasuko's mother or the police?

I'm the first to admit that ultimately it doesn't make a whole lot of difference but surely it would further suggest his route throughout the house, and if he did switch them off it would be really weird that he would go through them all after not caring about leaving traces.

Like the entrance point, just something random that has been bothering me lately.

Again, starting with my mantra, it will be DNA (and given what is happening in South Korea, one may have a larger database of Asian DNAs in Asia - finally!). It would be nice if TMPD updates all they have, but according to what I have read, there is a dichotomy between two witnesses. One saw no light in the house at 3am. At the same time, Yasuko’s mother thought that when she entered the house, the light was on. I don’t know how to interpret memory of people subjected to severe stress. Some have almost photographic memory for these events, many suppress painful and traumatic ones. I would assume that the witness who was passing/biking by the house at 3am saw “nothing out of the ordinary.” This part I believe.

 

[Incoherent]

I would assume that the witness who was passing/biking by the house at 3am saw “nothing out of the ordinary.” This part I believe.

Except the bathroom window wide open and the insect screen on the floor below it?
I could imagine the killer turning off all the lights before he escapes again to not be seen, but if he hadn’t escaped yet then I’m not sure of the likelihood of him carrying around cabinet drawers and throwing things everywhere, stepping over bodies, going up and down the stairs, eating and drinking etc, in pitch darkness.
At 3am either the lights were still on, or they weren’t and the window was wide open and screen on the floor. Both are noticeable in my opinion.

Nic has also already told us several times from his conversations with the chief that there were no witness sightings at all.

Again, starting with my mantra, it will be DNA (and given what is happening in South Korea, one may have a larger database of Asian DNAs in Asia - finally!).

To quote the chief in Faceless “Japan is very good at collecting DNA, but terrible at using it”. Collecting DNA and having large databases won’t mean anything at all if the law still prevents it from being used in a way to find the killer, and at the moment it is still against the law. Setagaya city is currently fighting for this to be overturned but it is hugely unpopular in Japan due to people not wanting their privacy to be invaded in any other way.
It will be the usage laws that will change this case.

Until then, we have the TMPD and Nic doing the lord’s work trying to find him.