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

[Lexiintoronto]

About personal. If here, in the US, someone did such a nasty thing and disappeared forever, I’d say, no chance they knew the family. There is zero connection between them. But if it happened far away, and the person just left the country, there could have been a connection. It could have been a direct connection, it could be hatred of the whole group, or just a random choice. But, mentally, the person is very sick.



I see. I once heard a German phrase "Gute miene Zum bösen spiel machen", "to make a pleasant face at an evil game", and liked it. So, I wonder if I could come to Tokyo LE, and, posing not an as American, but as a Russian tourist, complain about someone burglarizing my the place or stealing something from me, and bringing in DNA to test. To avoid bypassing privacy laws since the DNA is unknown. Just doing a DNA test in a potential petty crime. All they have is some DNA. All they will have are DNA results.

This is brilliant. Illegal I’m sure, but I’d do it and apologize afterwards.

When I first heard if this case I thought of all the possible suspects’s DNA the family may have all over the possessions that were handed back to them. I would have tested that and done genetic genealogy on it if I were them.

 

[acutename]

Interesting post, Smkd. Thank you!

N0, we just know that he created a folder. That's the one thing, other than logging on, that we know for certain he did on the computer. In terms of him searching through documents, I know that early articles in the days after the murders, suggest he might have been looking for something specific. However, now we know that except for some money and the father's clothes, it seems as if he took nothing (how the police / relatives would know *exactly* what was in the house and whether he did in fact take something or not, I'm not sure).

I mean it's reasonable to conclude he probably did speak Japanese, at least on some level --even if he just had a limited amount, that wouldn't stop him looking at documents in the house-- I just don't think there's anything definitive that confirms it.

But I suppose the point remains, if you spoke NO Japanese, why would you even bother looking at these documents?

As for the military theory, it's not something I'm certain about either. But there are various connections which haven't been explained away. For one, if he has no connection whatsoever, we're left with the problem of him having sand from a US air base (closed to the general public). Curfew could well explain why he'd stay in the house when most other people would flee the scene!

I think he might have stayed in the house because he had such a severe wound and he had not anticipated that and he was trying to figure out how to deal with it- esp in public.

 

[tes1984]

I don't know if a severely injured perp would raid the fridge for food.
When do we think he stems the bloodflow from his injury? Is it before or after all of the killings?

 

[tes1984]

And where do we think the perp was injured?

Did he stab himself, or did one of the Miyazawa family injure him?

If he stabbed himself, then was it in the guts, the thigh, or his opposite hand?

 

[Lexiintoronto]

And where do we think the perp was injured?

Did he stab himself, or did one of the Miyazawa family injure him?

If he stabbed himself, then was it in the guts, the thigh, or his opposite hand?

I don't know if a severely injured perp would raid the fridge for food.
When do we think he stems the bloodflow from his injury? Is it before or after all of the killings?

There are a lot of details in this thread, but basically he seems to have cut his right hand severely. After the killings he treated his wounds and ate food and had drinks from their refrigerator.

 

[acutename]

Great post, Jade! Thank you

(I actually wrote one of those articles you link to a few years back). I've seen many of these before and I guess the questions I'm still left with going through them again:

*If the killer's motive is money and goods, why are the bank cards left in the house and simply spread about? We know he spread many different items about, why didn't he take the bank cards? And if his motive was money, why did he leave any behind in the house (particularly because I think there was some prominently displayed near the computer, I believe).

*If the clothes are washed in a manner that is not common in Japan then how much does this really tell them? If we know the clothes came from Japan but the water used to wash them was uncommon in Japan how can the conclusion be a foreigner? Obviously, I don't discount this at all. If I'm a betting man, I would say that the killer most likely has ties to other countries. But I'm curious as to why they think cleaning the clothes in a Korean way makes him Korean but buying clothes in Japan doesn't make him Japanese?

*The problem I've had with articles / videos (particularly in English) is that they blend in stories about eyewitnesses and heated arguments and the like into the known facts. Motorcycle gangs and heated arguments are just simply never substantiated anywhere else. That's not to say none of that happened or that the police didn't look into these elements. Just that I don't want to take Listverse or Unresolved Podcast at their word if none of the major Japanese newspapers have reported on it.

*The detail about the intercom is fantastic -- I don't know how I missed that. I had always wondered about that. If the grandmother couldn't get through on the phone, that would mean the killer HAD cut the phone line. But then if that was true, how did he go online at 1:18am? (Assuming their connection was dial-up and looking at a timeline of internet usage in Japan it seems like December 2000 was too early for broadband). If she never calls them on the phone and simply goes over to the house at 10:00am the next morning then that solves that problem. However, one caveat: if this article is based on that book it mentions, it's worth saying it's written by a guy who never uses his real name. And he claims, spectacularly, to have solved the case himself. So hopefully the detail about the intercom isn't coming from him but is coming from Japan Today.

*As for your final points, I think it's very probable the killer had observed the family / the children. A park would make a good spot to do this from as it's full of hiding places, a man wouldn't stand out in a park just walking around the way he might if it was a quiet residential back street.

*Agree that the silhouette / mannikin gives the impression of a tall or imposing man yet we know our killer was only 5 ft 6.

*I've never seen anything via the local press or TMPD that substantiated arguing, whether inside the home or outside with skateboarders / gang members.

*Until the TMPD comment on exactly where the sand was from, this point will remain unclear. But I DO know for a fact that sand can be identified by its geography pretty accurately these days.

*RE: the Korean cleaning water. They say it's uncommon. But I suppose that doesn't mean it's impossible for it to be local.

*I definitely agree that it's likely he watched them prior to the murders.

he could have gone on the computer and created a file without an internet connection- he could have even "looked at" the theater site if it was left on the screen when the connection ended... it would not have been "live" but it might have still been displayed.

 

[acutename]

Here's the problem with knowing about the soundproofing between the house. It would require some kind of connection to either one of the families: either personal or professional. Now, I'm not going to sit here and say it's impossible the TMPD made any mistakes. But at the same time, given they've (supposedly) put 282,000 personnel on the case, I have to think that if the connection was WITHIN the Miyazawa's circle, they would've found that man by now.

So, while a personal reason is a far more convincing MOTIVE for killing these human beings. It seems hard to believe that he could be close enough to hate them that much (or whatever the motive) and for the TMPD to just overlook him. Meaning that it's more likely he didn't know about the soundproofing. Again, I can't get into massive amounts of detail here but the logistics for soundproofing that can block out all sound between two nearby houses with wooden frames... As you can imagine, that's not a commonplace house installation. Let alone, hearing/feeling the impact of the fold-up ladder but hearing nobody falling down the stairs, or coming down the ladder, or going up the ladder, or presumably struggling. Ultimately, I think either the killer got extremely lucky. Or he's extremely savvy and knew what he could get away with ahead of time. And I tend not to believe too quickly in the super slick Hannibal Lecter types that can get away with murder so easily (especially when you take into account all of the 'mistakes' he makes in the house itself).

Of course, another possibility is that the TMPD did NOT overlook him -- it could be that they have a good idea of who did it but, for whatever reason, can't build a legal bridge between the evidence in the house and the suspect.

If the house is so sound proofed, why would the skate boarders' noises ever be a problem? Is the sound proofing only on the side facing the other house and not on the other three sides? makes no sense IMO.

 

[Charlot123]

The issue in Japan is that while it's true there is a fierce defence of privacy, there simply are no laws around using DNA in the way we do in the UK / US etc. So, those laws would have to be put in place and there is currently seemingly little appetite for giving the police yet more powers in a country where they have more powers than basically anywhere else. Particularly when murder is basically non-existent in Japan and the ever-burgeoning culture of sensitivity towards victims may not be, without any disrespect intended, what it is in other places. Of course, I don't say that as some kind of inherent failing in Japan, more that they simply don't have the murders for critical mass in societal opinion shifts that we do in the US / UK. So, all that to say -- their lack of DNA laws absolutely do limit murder cases like this one. But the key is, they just do not get cases like this. There are a handful in the last 23 years. That's why it's a blessing that people like Chief Tsuchita and a few others are out there campaigning...

RE: the offender himself, I agree, I think he had broken laws before and likely engaged in violence but these were his first murders. Where I'm not sure I agree is whether the killer hated the Miyazawas directly or whether he simply used them to discharge his rage. I actually lean towards the latter as it would explain how there can be a lack of relationship.

Japan is changing, too.

Japan passes immigration reform bill: 4 things to know

Change allows deportation of people who repeatedly apply for refugee status

asia.nikkei.com

Japan is bringing in people from around the world because its own people are aging. With it, come changes. Don't get me wrong - I totally support work immigration. It is a positive thing, as the experience of Turkish immigration to Germany has amply shown, the Germans have done a huge study about it. However, initially, given that the Japanese reform is half-baked and seems not to factor in the immense complexity of Japanese language, one can foresee problems with acculturation and discontent.

The police might as well get prepared to it.

 

[Skip]

Here are my thoughts:

Before Nic mentioned a POI, I was actually thinking that the culprit is likely an American citizen, of Korean or other Asian ethnicity. If they or their parent was stationed at Yokota AFB, they could've easily been to Edwards AFB in the past, whether by visit, stay, or a parent's visit. Service members often travel to other bases for "TDY" and family can tag along.

If the Miyazawas liked airplanes, maybe they visited Yokota AFB at some point. According to an old article (should I link it?), beginning in the year 2000, the base accepted outside volunteers to bake and give Christmas cookies to the soldiers, including first sergeants. I'm not sure how this operation was conducted, but this would have began just days before the family was murdered. Setsuko said the kids made her cakes for Christmas and her birthday. Could she have meant cookies instead? Some cookies are called cakes. Or, maybe they liked baking and participated separately. I wonder if the culprit was at the base or had family there and encountered the family during the cookie event. Only speculating, of course.

Theres a lot that's been said that I won't rehash, but I feel that seeing the happy family somewhere possibly angered a troubled young man who decided to act out of.. jealousy? This is just a theory, mind you. It's rare for a "randomly selected" murder to occur, but not impossible. If he was indeed on a drug such as Ritalin, could this could have contributed to his mental state and also been out of his blood by the time he committed the murders? The half-life of Ritalin is only 3.5 hrs and it stays in the blood for 12 hours. Any trace of it would've been gone, I would imagine, by 8-10pm at the latest, assuming he took it every morning. In some people, these drugs can make them feel uncharacteristically ragey. So it's not out of the question that he was ever on a prescription drug. Please clarify if I'm completely wrong on the science here. Also, I'm only using Ritalin as an example. Any or no drugs could've been involved.

Or, could the family have been targeted by mistake? Did the killer mean to attack the family next door instead? Did any of them have personal troubles? Maybe he chose the house and family at completely random?

The 15-20 year age range makes sense, because this is a crime of passion and opportunity with many mistakes. He clearly didn't wear the right gloves or bring the right knife. This was the killer's first attempt at murder ever, clearly. I think the ransacking and craziness in the house is due to either wanting to throw police off his trail, him searching for something, or just a disarray of his mental state. I think he covered their faces simply because he didn't want to see the gruesome scene, no other reason. Wouldn't you?

If this man is both a foreigner and never required to be fingerprinted, he easily remains at large. As an American, I've never had my prints taken before. Not far-fetched. He is not a serial killer, probably doesn't know the family personally and if he's the son of an airman, they likely don't know enough Japanese to learn all of the case details on TV, depending on when details were released. A doctor parent could've easily sutured his wounds, or maybe he knew someone else who could do it.

IMO, the only real way this case will be solved is if a girlfriend/wife/spouse, parent, family member, or friend of the killer has a suspicion and submits his info and details to the Japanese police. I highly doubt this would happen. Even then, there may not be enough evidence to apprehend and test a suspect for involvement in this case, especially if they are a foreigner.

Like I said, probably one of the rare random targeted murders that make you lock your doors and windows at night. It's cases like this why I do exactly that.

My utmost condolences to the family. This is a truly tragic case, and I do hope it can be solved one day. About a new podcast - unfortunately I have no time to listen to the first one, but how about Setagaya Ghost as a name for the killer? It's a little simple, but catchy. Anyway, a transcript would be great!

 

[AnyNameIWish]

So, a few things.

> The Investigative Pscyhologist mentions this has to be someone who is very used to the violence/gore in order to do something like this.
> As I understand, this is a male between 13-25 yrs old (ish). The behaviour after the Killings to me shows a kid exposed to violence (fascination with war, military, gore) who is not dazed by the bloodshed and is enjoying this process. The only reason he hasn't left the house is, no trains until 5am at the earliest, so he kills time by making a mess of the house, very childish and a big F U to anyone who is trying to figure out the motive.
> The consumption of ice cream and then MugiCha (barley tea) and NOT beer/soda is interesting to me. It's not a teen who wants to get drunk on free beer, he wants a treat (ice cream) and is being "good" by drinking mugicha (a healthy sugar free barley drink), that mom would approve of. He also eats a melon, with his bare hands, it's as if he needs to rehydrate and energize after all the energy he spent.
> Using the female sanitary napkins as bandages- this points 100% to military background to me. I don't know any teenage boy who would be comfortable touching a mom's box of maxi pads, much less know how to use them or what they look like or are made of. Knowing they are useful for wounds is military knowledge, in my book. Either they learned this from family, reading, or talking to others about gore.

So far we have completed draft transcripts for Episodes 1 to 4... Nic will look them over and give us the green light on them! Teamwork!

 

[Charlot123]

Charlotte, you are devious! If you aren't a detective in "real life", you should be!

Lol, I am too lazy, hence, the obsessive job of Tokyo detectives amazes me. Too bad their hands are tied. Great that @FacelessPodcast brought this case to the world's attention.

 

[Charlot123]

Here are my thoughts:

Before Nic mentioned a POI, I was actually thinking that the culprit is likely an American citizen, of Korean or other Asian ethnicity. If they or their parent was stationed at Yokota AFB, they could've easily been to Edwards AFB in the past, whether by visit, stay, or a parent's visit. Service members often travel to other bases for "TDY" and family can tag along.

If the Miyazawas liked airplanes, maybe they visited Yokota AFB at some point. According to an old article (should I link it?), beginning in the year 2000, the base accepted outside volunteers to bake and give Christmas cookies to the soldiers, including first sergeants. I'm not sure how this operation was conducted, but this would have began just days before the family was murdered. Setsuko said the kids made her cakes for Christmas and her birthday. Could she have meant cookies instead? Some cookies are called cakes. Or, maybe they liked baking and participated separately. I wonder if the culprit was at the base or had family there and encountered the family during the cookie event. Only speculating, of course.

Theres a lot that's been said that I won't rehash, but I feel that seeing the happy family somewhere possibly angered a troubled young man who decided to act out of.. jealousy? This is just a theory, mind you. It's rare for a "randomly selected" murder to occur, but not impossible. If he was indeed on a drug such as Ritalin, could this could have contributed to his mental state and also been out of his blood by the time he committed the murders? The half-life of Ritalin is only 3.5 hrs and it stays in the blood for 12 hours. Any trace of it would've been gone, I would imagine, by 8-10pm at the latest, assuming he took it every morning. In some people, these drugs can make them feel uncharacteristically ragey. So it's not out of the question that he was ever on a prescription drug. Please clarify if I'm completely wrong on the science here. Also, I'm only using Ritalin as an example. Any or no drugs could've been involved.

Or, could the family have been targeted by mistake? Did the killer mean to attack the family next door instead? Did any of them have personal troubles? Maybe he chose the house and family at completely random?

The 15-20 year age range makes sense, because this is a crime of passion and opportunity with many mistakes. He clearly didn't wear the right gloves or bring the right knife. This was the killer's first attempt at murder ever, clearly. I think the ransacking and craziness in the house is due to either wanting to throw police off his trail, him searching for something, or just a disarray of his mental state. I think he covered their faces simply because he didn't want to see the gruesome scene, no other reason. Wouldn't you?

If this man is both a foreigner and never required to be fingerprinted, he easily remains at large. As an American, I've never had my prints taken before. Not far-fetched. He is not a serial killer, probably doesn't know the family personally and if he's the son of an airman, they likely don't know enough Japanese to learn all of the case details on TV, depending on when details were released. A doctor parent could've easily sutured his wounds, or maybe he knew someone else who could do it.

IMO, the only real way this case will be solved is if a girlfriend/wife/spouse, parent, family member, or friend of the killer has a suspicion and submits his info and details to the Japanese police. I highly doubt this would happen. Even then, there may not be enough evidence to apprehend and test a suspect for involvement in this case, especially if they are a foreigner.

Like I said, probably one of the rare random targeted murders that make you lock your doors and windows at night. It's cases like this why I do exactly that.

My utmost condolences to the family. This is a truly tragic case, and I do hope it can be solved one day. About a new podcast - unfortunately I have no time to listen to the first one, but how about Setagaya Ghost as a name for the killer? It's a little simple, but catchy. Anyway, a transcript would be great!

That's a very interesting idea about baking cakes. I wonder if such traditional things as face-painting contests could be included? Something brings me back to these dyes...

 

[Charlot123]

This is brilliant. Illegal I’m sure, but I’d do it and apologize afterwards.

When I first heard if this case I thought of all the possible suspects’s DNA the family may have all over the possessions that were handed back to them. I would have tested that and done genetic genealogy on it if I were them.

A piece of information: in 2019 I think, MyHeritage announced that they soon would be able to lift the saliva from old licked stamps and analyze the DNA. I don't know what happened to the project, but I assume it is possible. Hair, too, some companies can sequence DNA from rootless hair. I think if it is a private European company, for example, the relatives are within their right, and it is a brilliant idea. For example, Britain might have good private criminology labs

 

[Charlot123]

he could have gone on the computer and created a file without an internet connection- he could have even "looked at" the theater site if it was left on the screen when the connection ended... it would not have been "live" but it might have still been displayed.

Asia Internet History Projects - Japan: Snapshot of Internet around 2000

Kenjiro Cho 2013.2.4 Broadband In early 2000s, Japan experienced a rapid and successful transitionfrom dialup services to high-speed broadband access. There were several factors for the success: (1) the existence of physical infrastructure (2) market potential (3) deregulation and competition

sites.google.com

What kind of an internet connection did Mikio have? Statistically, dial-up, but he worked from home, wouldn't he need a faster one?

If it was digital cable, can the time of the last "call" via the phone line be established?

 

[fridaybaker]

If the house is so sound proofed, why would the skate boarders' noises ever be a problem? Is the sound proofing only on the side facing the other house and not on the other three sides? makes no sense IMO.

It wasn't soundproofed. Actually, it was, but the point is that the soundproofing was virtually useless. TMPD have checked, and were quite surprised that the folks next door didn't hear anything, such was the limit of the soundproofing.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

I absolutely hold the TMPD to the highest regard... in 2000, TT would have been around 48 years old... I'm still wondering about brushing aside the whole 2chan thing.

2000. In Japan I was using a dial up service and connecting to AOL. My relatives and grandparents were NOT connected to the internet. The idea of an answering machine was strange to some of my relatives. What I'm trying to say is, I'm not 100% sure the police force would have fully understood what 2chan even is, and if computer forensics existed and even if they found exactly who was behind those posts. Moo.

Yes, my feeling is that whatever the killer's interest in computers, and we can assume it is not zero given that he accesses the family computer during the night, there is no connection between him and 2Chan.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

parcour? (not suggesting that it was this practitioner- just that it was a thing about 20 yrs ago)
View attachment 475421

Take a high-flying freerunning tour of Tokyo with Jason Paul​

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Red Bull
https://www.redbull.com › int-en › theredbulletin › jason...





Jul 22, 2018 — Inspired by the cult 2001 film, Yamakasi, in which the action scenes rely on parkour skills, Paul began training every day in his neighbourhood.

Interesting shout. There is absolutely as much reason to look at parkour as skating. Though Soshigaya Park might not have the most interesting architecture to interact with in that sense. RE: the grip tape that is so often mentioned being in the killer's bag, I'm not actually sure if this has ever been confirmed 100%. Beyond that, the only link is the fact there was a skate park outside. But so too was there a tennis court and the killer was wearing tennis shoes and nobody ever mentions tennis players in connection with this case.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

do any "service children" go to private schools off base?

Anything is possible, yes. But Yokota AFB seems pretty self-contained to me.

And if we meant in relation to Yasuko's cram school that she ran, I'm not actually sure she would have been teaching a boy at the age of 15 and up. Particularly in English.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

or maybe she told him he was hopeless and did not tutor him... and he was not getting into a good school. Weird to me that he was going through the family paperwork.... did he think he was adopted? Want to steal credentials to hide his identity?

If the killer is the son of a USAF serviceman, I don't think Yasuko's teaching practise will have anything to do with it. Adoption is often mentioned in relation to this case, actually. Though it's based on nothing concrete so far as I can see. My feeling is that if there were any kind of family link between the killer, the TMPD would have uncovered it long ago. And I'm not sure the killer went to any great lengths to hide anything at all. At most, he took a little cash to raise the possibility of a robbery gone wrong.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

I think if he frequented that local skate park, the local skaters would have recognized him and ID'd him IMO.

Agree. And having spoken to several skaters in that scene and connected to that skate park myself, I can tell you the police went after them hard. So, even if they weren't willing to cooperate, (which it sounds like several were not), the TMPD still would have caught their fish if he were swimming in that stream.