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

[Lalalacasbah]

The attic is where Niina and Yasuko were sleeping and where they were attacked for last the first time (the second time was down the retractable ladder leading to the attic, and the ladder's thud was what the neighboring sister heard sometime around 23).
The access is not in the bathroom, but in the corridor outside of it that you can see in the picture Incoherent posted.

Okay thanks, so only one way to access the attic by the ladder and not a secondary access point. That's what I wasn't sure on.

Again, so determined and so risky especially if any signs the neighbours were still awake (lights on probably, possibly loud TV heard). This seems to me the killer was adamant on these victims and it didn't matter whatsoever who was in the way or someone might come knocking after the fact while he lounged around.

I know I keep repeating this - but the more I think of these fantastical details the more I go back to it being personal or of passion in some way. Maybe the killer didn't encounter them whimsically, maybe there is a deeper tie somewhere. MOO

 

[AppleTreeGreen]

Thank you @Incoherent for the insightful responses and pictures. They were really helpful!

Amazing work! @FacelessPodcast

One thing I was wondering after listening to the episode of Casefile’s was if LE thought any of the photos Yasuko had picked up that day seemed helpful? I was thinking about this more on the lines that if the family was being stalked or followed in the days or weeks leading up to their horrific murder perhaps the perp might have been caught or some figure was unknowingly caught in the background of the photos multiple times, possibly even at different locations or at different dates or times, thus raising LE’s suspicions?

I also came across a photo of Rei and Mikio Miyazawa on INF.news in which they are playing with a model Japanese toy airplane. That and the calendar also depicting old model Japanese airplanes does make me wonder more about the Yokota Air Base connection and if it is possible that the Miyazawas, perhaps due to Rei’s or Mikio’s possible fascination with airplanes, did a tour there and that is how they first came to the perp’s attention?

Or perhaps they or the perp both like to collect the toy models and they came across each other at a store or seller? I read online that there was one near the base for those who liked to collect but there of course many other popular ones across Tokyo like those found in Akihabara and the Yellow Submarine Hobby Shop, according to Trip Adviser. I only thought of this because my cousin used to collect model helicopters and airplanes too when all he dreamed of was becoming a pilot. Perhaps the perp shared the same interests and hobby as well, particularly after having a parent already working for the Air Force and getting to see pilots work on the regular, and that is how he came across the Miyazawas?

It could also of course all be a coincidence or not relevant at all

Just sharing my thoughts/opinions

The link where I saw the pic;

https://inf.news/en/world/b1d07fe2b0ddb853709b986132ad72a5.html#google_vignette

 

[Eliver]

Thank you @Incoherent for the insightful responses and pictures. They were really helpful!

Amazing work! @FacelessPodcast

One thing I was wondering after listening to the episode of Casefile’s was if LE thought any of the photos Yasuko had picked up that day seemed helpful? I was thinking about this more on the lines that if the family was being stalked or followed in the days or weeks leading up to their horrific murder perhaps the perp might have been caught or some figure was unknowingly caught in the background of the photos multiple times, possibly even at different locations or at different dates or times, thus raising LE’s suspicions?

I also came across a photo of Rei and Mikio Miyazawa on INF.news in which they are playing with a model Japanese toy airplane. That and the calendar also depicting old model Japanese airplanes does make me wonder more about the Yokota Air Base connection and if it is possible that the Miyazawas, perhaps due to Rei’s or Mikio’s possible fascination with airplanes, did a tour there and that is how they first came to the perp’s attention?

Or perhaps they or the perp both like to collect the toy models and they came across each other at a store or seller? I read online that there was one near the base for those who liked to collect but there of course many other popular ones across Tokyo like those found in Akihabara and the Yellow Submarine Hobby Shop, according to Trip Adviser. I only thought of this because my cousin used to collect model helicopters and airplanes too when all he dreamed of was becoming a pilot. Perhaps the perp shared the same interests and hobby as well, particularly after having a parent already working for the Air Force and getting to see pilots work on the regular, and that is how he came across the Miyazawas?

It could also of course all be a coincidence or not relevant at all

Just sharing my thoughts/opinions

The link where I saw the pic;

https://inf.news/en/world/b1d07fe2b0ddb853709b986132ad72a5.html#google_vignette

I remember this airplane and calendar thing discussed many and many pages ago on a previous thread (perhaps it was you who were discussing it with Nic?).

Anyway, I agree with many of your points.

Yokota Air Base is also my main stance regarding this case.

 

[Incoherent]

Re: planes

Mikio’s job involved designing liveries for planes and Interbrand had Japan Airlines as a client.
Mikio’s job designing these liveries also took him to the US for work.

If he also had a special interest in planes, which wouldn’t be surprising since his job involves them so often and also all of the models in his home, calendars etc, where better to see several different kinds of these in person than Yokota?

Yokota AFB also happens to have a Friendship Day once a year where the general public is able to go on the base for festivities etc.
Out of pure curiosity I will be going to the next one in 2025.

 

[SteveL]

Re: planes

Mikio’s job involved designing liveries for planes and Interbrand had Japan Airlines as a client.
Mikio’s job designing these liveries also took him to the US for work.

If he also had a special interest in planes, which wouldn’t be surprising since his job involves them so often and also all of the models in his home, calendars etc, where better to see several different kinds of these in person than Yokota?

Yokota AFB also happens to have a Friendship Day once a year where the general public is able to go on the base for festivities etc.
Out of pure curiosity I will be going to the next one in 2025.

I tried finding the date the festival was held in 2000. As best as I can determine, it looks like the festival was held in August. With Mikio’s love of planes, there was a good chance he attended. Wondering if there may have been a chance encounter with the killer at the festival.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

Jumping back quick to that light thing in the window. I think I figured it out (or not! lol)...

I was out for a walk today and saw a house that looked like it had a light on in the window, but it was a break in the clouds and a reflection of light/sunlight. It almost seemed to change shape depending on the clouds position and could easily look like a light on inside.

Just a thought. I'm unsure the time of day or if any light was reflecting on the widow be it a street light or sky light. Pics below for example.

Also to note - that house is not lived in below so no lights ever on as it's in a park.

.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

Would Mikio meet someone to do business with on Friendship Day? I still feel he wasn't the target for some reason, he just seemed to get killed to get out of the way, JMO... I still circle back to Yasuko.

Would be great if we could confirm any of the family went.

 

[WhoDisDoe]

Thank you @Incoherent for the insightful responses and pictures. They were really helpful!

Amazing work! @FacelessPodcast

One thing I was wondering after listening to the episode of Casefile’s was if LE thought any of the photos Yasuko had picked up that day seemed helpful? I was thinking about this more on the lines that if the family was being stalked or followed in the days or weeks leading up to their horrific murder perhaps the perp might have been caught or some figure was unknowingly caught in the background of the photos multiple times, possibly even at different locations or at different dates or times, thus raising LE’s suspicions?

I also came across a photo of Rei and Mikio Miyazawa on INF.news in which they are playing with a model Japanese toy airplane. That and the calendar also depicting old model Japanese airplanes does make me wonder more about the Yokota Air Base connection and if it is possible that the Miyazawas, perhaps due to Rei’s or Mikio’s possible fascination with airplanes, did a tour there and that is how they first came to the perp’s attention?

Or perhaps they or the perp both like to collect the toy models and they came across each other at a store or seller? I read online that there was one near the base for those who liked to collect but there of course many other popular ones across Tokyo like those found in Akihabara and the Yellow Submarine Hobby Shop, according to Trip Adviser. I only thought of this because my cousin used to collect model helicopters and airplanes too when all he dreamed of was becoming a pilot. Perhaps the perp shared the same interests and hobby as well, particularly after having a parent already working for the Air Force and getting to see pilots work on the regular, and that is how he came across the Miyazawas?

It could also of course all be a coincidence or not relevant at all

Just sharing my thoughts/opinions

The link where I saw the pic;

https://inf.news/en/world/b1d07fe2b0ddb853709b986132ad72a5.html#google_vignette

If the perp did indeed come across the family out on the town, I wonder how he found their home.

There are at least two ways I can think of. The first is that he obtained their address. For example: he could’ve gotten access to a Friendship Day visitor log at the AFB. Given an address, a determined person could’ve used maps to navigate.

The other way I can think of is that he stalked them back to their home. For some reason this seems easier to me, even though it’d actually require a lot of trekking and maybe some stealth.

Of course, he might not have encountered them out on the town. Maybe he first encountered them near their home (tennis seemed like an especially compelling theory, given it could also explain how the sand got in the bag); or maybe this was just a random attack.

Just articulating some of the different possibilities for myself. I guess none of them seems particularly implausible. All JMO.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

This Sunday, December 29th, Fuji TV will broadcast a program titled 新情報×新事実 世田谷一家殺害事件「解決への鍵」 "New Information and New Facts: The Key to Solving the Setagaya Family Murder Case" with a focus on the DNA evidence related to the culprit.

The trailer shows facial composition and a sketch of a "suspicious person that the Metropolitan Police Department considers to be a likely suspect."

I assume this to just be them talking about the possibilities of what COULD be done if DNA law changed as opposed to using the actual killer's DNA (no legal framework for doing so currently, as discussed ad nauseam). At any rate, that the Japanese media is discussing actual new possibilities beyond the investigative orthodoxy that has, without any disrespect intended, taken us precisely nowhere -- that can only be a positive thing.

Wishing you all a restful end of year.
Nicolás

 

[Incoherent]

This Sunday, December 29th, Fuji TV will broadcast a program titled 新情報×新事実 世田谷一家殺害事件「解決への鍵」 "New Information and New Facts: The Key to Solving the Setagaya Family Murder Case" with a focus on the DNA evidence related to the culprit.

The trailer shows facial composition and a sketch of a "suspicious person that the Metropolitan Police Department considers to be a likely suspect."

I assume this to just be them talking about the possibilities of what COULD be done if DNA law changed as opposed to using the actual killer's DNA (no legal framework for doing so currently, as discussed ad nauseam). At any rate, that the Japanese media is discussing actual new possibilities beyond the investigative orthodoxy that has, without any disrespect intended, taken us precisely nowhere -- that can only be a positive thing.

Wishing you all a restful end of year.
Nicolás

View attachment 553587

I will be watching this. The show is making a lot of bold claims about a new image of the murderer and suspicious persons, as well as unpublished photos and a run-down of exactly how the scene was found.
It’ll be interesting to see what they’re going to say and how they’ve reached those conclusions.

In the trailer they’re showing Parabon NanoLabs again and now it’s being broadcast to the general population in an hour-long TV special which is really great news. I hope this means things are moving forward in the right direction.

 

[Eliver]

I am speechless, this is amazing. I'm gonna tune in as well to watch it.

 

[bettyboop]

I have been following along, and have bookmarked the Fuji tv link after translating it to English. I will try to watch the program. I hope there is some good information, it sure sounds like it. I also read the inf article provided by @AppleTreeGreen , and have some questions hopefully someone can answer. It is mentioned that all of the cram school money was taken, and it was 150,000 yen. What would that be in American money? Also, someone upthread posted a link to a mention of Mikio's website, and he was a Mindscape designer. I think that could be a clue right there. Some gamer who was mad at his losing on the platform and blamed Mikio. It was also said some New Years cards were taken, that seems oddly specific. JMO MOO

 

[Eliver]

I have been following along, and have bookmarked the Fuji tv link after translating it to English. I will try to watch the program. I hope there is some good information, it sure sounds like it. I also read the inf article provided by @AppleTreeGreen , and have some questions hopefully someone can answer. It is mentioned that all of the cram school money was taken, and it was 150,000 yen. What would that be in American money? Also, someone upthread posted a link to a mention of Mikio's website, and he was a Minecraft designer. I think that could be a clue right there. Some gamer who was mad at his losing on the platform and blamed Mikio. It was also said some New Years cards were taken, that seems oddly specific. JMO MOO

Apologies but I'm not following.
Minecraft? Mikio working on it? A gamer? I don't understand. The murder happened in 2000.
Also "Mikio's website" that was posted before is only accessible from the front page, no link is available since it's the wayback machine.

About the cram money, I believe it was said the killer only took a small portion, this information about all the money is new.


EDIT: Just went through Apple tree green link and it seems to be machine translated, it doesn't even get the names correct. The killer did not take 150000 as far as we know and the postcard thing was also cleared to have been policemen that also returned all of them as I recall

 

[bettyboop]

I fixed my post to correct my mistake as it is Mindscape. I realize the article is not correct in some respects, but I feel as if you are being a bit antagonistic. I am merely trying to help. I am older, and Mindscape and Minecraft seem to me to be an easy mistake for someone my age to make. Sorry you seem to be so upset by my post.

 

[Eliver]

I fixed my post to correct my mistake as it is Mindscape. I realize the article is not correct in some respects, but I feel as if you are being a bit antagonistic. I am merely trying to help. I am older, and Mindscape and Minecraft seem to me to be an easy mistake for someone my age to make. Sorry you seem to be so upset by my post.

It's difficult to convey the intention of a post but no I was not being antagonist, sorry to come off as such!

I guess we cleared that up then.

 

[AppleTreeGreen]

@Eliver @bettyboop as mentioned by @Lalalacasbah earlier, the INF news articles appear to be AI generated with multiple grammatical errors and translation issues so unfortunately it is not the most reliable source of information.

Nonetheless, the INF News was the source of the picture I was referring to in which Mikio and Rei were playing with what a model toy Japanese plane, which was I cited it. Perhaps I should have included this information earlier in my own post so Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.

As for the the amount of yen that the perp had stolen from Yasuko, other than on the INF news article the only other place so far that I recall at the moment that reported a dollar amount was on Casefile. On episode 148 of Casefile, it was estimated that the perp stole from a drawer a tuition fee payment to Yasuko that amounted to 200,000 yen, which was equivalent to 3000 Australian dollars at the time.

Whether or not this information is accurate or how reliable it is I cannot say. The episode was produced 4 years ago so perhaps as new information was and continued to be released by LE, more sources will become available to verify or disprove the accuracy of this reporting and the facts of the case in general.

IMO, I think if I had to choose between the two, I would consider the Faceless Podcast, which I think I will have to re-listen to in order to better understand the case and all the known or verified facts included within it, as the more reliable one for accurate information about the tragic and horrible murders of the Miyazawa family.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Nonetheless, the INF News was the source of the picture I was referring to in which Mikio and Rei were playing with what a model toy Japanese plane, which was I cited it. Perhaps I should have included this information earlier in my own post so Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.

RSBM: Rei did, indeed, like toy planes. As did his father. He has a background in creating props and animations, after all. Add in to that the fact that he was working on the design of aircraft liveries for his job and it all follows. A visit to Yokota (or anything related) to see planes is wholly and absolutely within the bounds of not just possibility, but solid probability.

As for the the amount of yen that the perp had stolen from Yasuko, other than on the INF news article the only other place so far that I recall at the moment that reported a dollar amount was on Casefile. On episode 148 of Casefile, it was estimated that the perp stole from a drawer a tuition fee payment to Yasuko that amounted to 200,000 yen, which was equivalent to 3000 Australian dollars at the time.

There is some debate as to the amount. From memory, the TMPD do not mention the exact amount stolen. I've posted the amount here (related to me by the Chief). As for the purpose of the money, that much is unclear. From what I know, had it been intended as tuition fee payment to Yasuko, I assume it would be in an envelope and clearly marked. @Incoherent could talk to this more but from my own experience, Japanese would be unlikely to pay you out of pocket with loose bills. And if it were in an envelope, that would show the killer possibly could read Japanese. At any rate, an extremely salient point about the money: almost double the amount was left behind in the house versus the amount the killer stole. And the money he left was left by the computer which the killer used meaning its unlikely it went unseen. So, that raises the possibility that maybe the money given to Yasuko was taken BACK. But that would raise the link between the murders and a student -- we know 1) the TMPD investigated that absolutely extensively and found nothing and 2) she was teaching young kids, not angry teenaged boys.

Whether or not this information is accurate or how reliable it is I cannot say. The episode was produced 4 years ago so perhaps as new information was and continued to be released by LE, more sources will become available to verify or disprove the accuracy of this reporting and the facts of the case in general.

From memory, that Casefile episode was riven with errors and misunderstandings throughout. No disrespect to them at all, I think they do sterling work. But it follows given their sources.

IMO, I think if I had to choose between the two, I would consider the Faceless Podcast, which I think I will have to re-listen to in order to better understand the case and all the known or verified facts included within it, as the more reliable one for accurate information about the tragic and horrible murders of the Miyazawa family.

Appreciated. But I would hasten to add that I think that the main difference was that they compile information about their cases via researchers whereas I spoke to first-hand sources. Of course, they have to make episodes on a regular basis whereas mine was a dedicated podcast so that makes sense.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Apologies but I'm not following.
Minecraft? Mikio working on it? A gamer? I don't understand. The murder happened in 2000.
Also "Mikio's website" that was posted before is only accessible from the front page, no link is available since it's the wayback machine.

About the cram money, I believe it was said the killer only took a small portion, this information about all the money is new.


EDIT: Just went through Apple tree green link and it seems to be machine translated, it doesn't even get the names correct. The killer did not take 150000 as far as we know and the postcard thing was also cleared to have been policemen that also returned all of them as I recall

This website belonging to Mikio has been posted before. It seems genuine enough but all its links are dead and essentially tells us nothing we don't already know.

As above, the killer left about double what he took despite the greater amount being clearly in front of him. And the money was in Yen, not dollars. That's just the conversion people are bandying around.

RE; the NYE cards, they were never taken, this was a misunderstanding from the TMPD. I believe what happened was they were taken into evidence and temporarily misplaced. As far as we know, the killer took zero interest in them.

 

[Eliver]

RSBM: Rei did, indeed, like toy planes. As did his father. He has a background in creating props and animations, after all. Add in to that the fact that he was working on the design of aircraft liveries for his job and it all follows. A visit to Yokota (or anything related) to see planes is wholly and absolutely within the bounds of not just possibility, but solid probability.

There is some debate as to the amount. From memory, the TMPD do not mention the exact amount stolen. I've posted the amount here (related to me by the Chief). As for the purpose of the money, that much is unclear. From what I know, had it been intended as tuition fee payment to Yasuko, I assume it would be in an envelope and clearly marked. @Incoherent could talk to this more but from my own experience, Japanese would be unlikely to pay you out of pocket with loose bills. And if it were in an envelope, that would show the killer possibly could read Japanese. At any rate, an extremely salient point about the money: almost double the amount was left behind in the house versus the amount the killer stole. And the money he left was left by the computer which the killer used meaning its unlikely it went unseen. So, that raises the possibility that maybe the money given to Yasuko was taken BACK. But that would raise the link between the murders and a student -- we know 1) the TMPD investigated that absolutely extensively and found nothing and 2) she was teaching young kids, not angry teenaged boys.

From memory, that Casefile episode was riven with errors and misunderstandings throughout. No disrespect to them at all, I think they do sterling work. But it follows given their sources.

Appreciated. But I would hasten to add that I think that the main difference was that they compile information about their cases via researchers whereas I spoke to first-hand sources. Of course, they have to make episodes on a regular basis whereas mine was a dedicated podcast so that makes sense.

RE: the money thing.
You are absolutely right about how money are handed here.
It would be weird to give money like that just with loose bills.
It makes absolutely sense the money were inside envelopes and marked.

I'm sure you already had this experience when visiting, but just to clarify for people who don't know: here even when you pay at konbinis and restaurants they never take bills directly from your hands. Rather, you put the money into a tray and then the clerk takes the tray.

But that also begs the question: how did the police know that an envelope or, more broadly speaking, SOME money were taken?

I'm deducing they knew from Mikio's meticulous tabs? People from the Iris's house?
Same for the clothes that they were taken: how did they know exactly which clothes they were taken?

I know this is not something major but I've always asked myself that.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

There is some debate as to the amount. From memory, the TMPD do not mention the exact amount stolen. I've posted the amount here (related to me by the Chief). As for the purpose of the money, that much is unclear. From what I know, had it been intended as tuition fee payment to Yasuko, I assume it would be in an envelope and clearly marked. @Incoherent could talk to this more but from my own experience, Japanese would be unlikely to pay you out of pocket with loose bills. And if it were in an envelope, that would show the killer possibly could read Japanese. At any rate, an extremely salient point about the money: almost double the amount was left behind in the house versus the amount the killer stole. And the money he left was left by the computer which the killer used meaning its unlikely it went unseen. So, that raises the possibility that maybe the money given to Yasuko was taken BACK. But that would raise the link between the murders and a student -- we know 1) the TMPD investigated that absolutely extensively and found nothing and 2) she was teaching young kids, not angry teenaged boys.

RSBM: This still gets my wheels turning even though likely out in left field I think because I still feel Yasuko (indirectly respectively) was somehow the catalyst/possible target of anger.

Sorry if this was discussed... Was her tutoring tied to a 3rd party company that employed tutors in general or was this a self employed business she did solely on her own?

If there is a connection to tutoring service/employer, would any older students tutor as well through this place, ie: high school or college aged kids as a part time gig or work experience? I imagine TMPD not only checked Yasuko's students but their parents, (older) siblings and cast a large web in that direction. MOO