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

[Charlot123]

Good morning/evening/daytime,

I have a question to everyone.
Somewhere, and randomly, i read that Yasuko was working as a cosmetologist/aesthetician when Mikio met her. That she, indeed, was close to Haruko and that Mikio's mom was afraid that he'd never marry as he was quiet. Mikio was afraid that Haruko, so close to her daughter, might not agree to the marriage, but she did, seeing that Mikio was a good provider. It is later, after marriage and with kids, that Yasuko became a cram school teacher.

And then I remembered @FacelessPodcast telling us how vicious the attack on Yasuko's face was.

And then I thought, the killer did go upstairs to get Yasuko and Niina. (You remember the father of one of Idaho victims, "he didn't need to get upstairs, but he did." Hinting at the potential target.)

So, I thought, it is quite possible that the women were sleeping. Niina, sick and getting medication. Either Yasuko took it as well for prevention and was sleepy, or simply, normal maternal reflex when your child is sleeping next to you?

Remembering how it is in cosmetology salons. The face and neck is bare, the rest covered with a sheet?

I Googled "how Japanese sleep?" (Prompted by memories of books of old times, when women would sleep on their backs, not to ruin the headdresses).

Well, things have changed.

A Complete Guide to the Japanese Sleep System

When you walk into a Japanese bedroom, there’s a good chance there won’t be a bed in sight. At least not in the western sense of the word. The Japanese have maintained a unique, minimalist approach to sleeping for centuries, a sleep system that’s vastly different from much of the rest of the...

jlifeinternational.com

They usually sleep on futons, but I think on the scheme of the house, I saw a bed in the corner?
The buckwheat pillows, though. What if Yasuko slept on her back, covered with the sheet? Maybe not on the back, but did it remind the situation in an aesthetician's salon?

Now, the area it is absolutely not up my alley. I don't even know if there is an overlap between a cosmetologist/aesthetician/hairdresser in Japan. From the Internet:

Barbers Hairdressers Cosmetologists Career Training Salary Jobs in Japan

www.japaneducation.info

However, my thought: should we look at the parents' lives before marriage? Yasuko was about 25 when she got married, a woman with a profession. Mikio was shy but a professional + interested in theater. Yasuko, from the photos (especially younger, where she resembles her mom) was attractive, smiley and lively. Was it some disgruntled customer or coworker or a customer's child? Someone could think he had a chance but then comes another person and "steals" her?

Some men can bear grudge for a long time. Plus, there is something about this attack on the face which is highly abnormal.

 

[Charlot123]

In terms of point of entry I do not believe it was via the bathroom window. The most likely route in my opinion is via the car and onto the balcony, the door of which I believe was left unlocked. It would be very easy to do and the noise created would be minimal. Compare this to the noisy Spiderman act that would be required to enter via the bathroom window.

The balcony as a point of entry would explain why Rei was killed first via strangulation and it would have enabled the killer to move downstairs to attack Mikio whilst maintaining the element of suprise. Once Mikio was killed then a sleeping Yasuko and Niina are easy targets. This would explain how he seemingly managed to kill one family member after another without the others realising.

The bathroom window mesh being cut was possibly an attempt to scope out the idea of exiting that way, but most likely it was an attempt to confuse the police as to the real point of entry. It would fit in with the other attempts that appear to have been made to hide the motives for the murders as a robbery gone wrong. The actual exit point was simply via the front door

I agree. The balcony is way more convenient. If Japan was/is so safe, granted, there were few neighbors left in Setagaya, but still, habits die hard, so the balcony door might have been unlocked.

Another chance, who brought Niina in? She was sick, perhaps Yasuko took her upstairs? Could they simply forget to lock the front door? Again, a safe country and neighborhood.

 

[Incoherent]

We need to remind ourselves that although the land that the Miyazawa house is stood on had most of its houses demolished by the end of 2000, the neighbourhood was not quiet or empty at all. The surrounding facilities were, and still are, used daily by a large amount of people of different demographics. It was, and still is, very noisy. Back then the youths in particular that hung around graffitied, drank alcohol, caused noise issues, and made messes with and left trash laying around.
There is indeed a notion that Japan is a safe country, and while that may overall be true, I would not describe Soshigaya Park as somewhere you could just leave a front door unlocked and not need to worry about anything or anyone.

The bathtub was full of water, hence being a reason the window was perhaps open slightly to let steam out before it was emptied. The balcony was used to dry laundry, hence being a reason why the latch may not have closed. My point being there would have been reasons for something left open and not just due to comfort in that the family did not need to care about security.
The family did not have a double lock on the door and bars on the 1F windows for no reason. Mikio was very security conscious.

Here is how Rei’s balcony windows were found (apologies for blurry images):

Laundry was hanging from them on the inside indicating someone brought it in for overnight. Notice the curtains are slightly pulled apart. Could this indicate someone climbed in through them? Or that the laundry was hastily brought in, hung up, and the latch and curtains not closed properly again? There has been no report that it was left open, unlike the window. But then again there have been no reports on many important factors up until the documentary last month… so one wonders.

Re: the bathroom window screen, there is perhaps a misconception this was just a screen that was cut out but it was not. It was an entire sliding metal structure that was pulled off. This is a task that takes time and is noisy, and isn’t able to just be cut or punched out. If you look at the way it was found I’d hesitate to say it was just thrown down and he climbed inside. Would it land so perfectly against the park fence if thrown? Or did he climb down with it and place it there before trying another way in?

 

[Bobban]

Found some photos from the park in the early 10's. This photo is from the skate park next to the Miyazawa house. The building to the right seems to be a park service center (labeled as such on google earth at least) and still stands there from what i can see.


(The photo is available online but I've blured out faces and some identifying stuff because I dont want this post to be about the individuals in the photo but more so the crowd they represent and the location)

Make of the photo what you want but as @Incoherent said I find it hard to believe this type of crowd would be a calm and quiet presence in the neighborhood.

I live not too far from a skate park and the slamming of the boards against the ground can be deafening as well as generally rowdy men and teenagers. There is almost always people there and I avoid walking past this skate park at night because it draws a strange crowd after 8-10pm. That being said; I find it almost impossible that the people living in and around Soshigaya Park would be oblivious to this usually loud and reckless crowd.

Even tho the photo above was taken about 9 years after the murders the clothing explains a bit why police thought the clothes left at the scene resembled a skater.


(This is just the same location on google earth for reference)

 

[Charlot123]

We need to remind ourselves that although the land that the Miyazawa house is stood on had most of its houses demolished by the end of 2000, the neighbourhood was not quiet or empty at all. The surrounding facilities were, and still are, used daily by a large amount of people of different demographics. It was, and still is, very noisy. Back then the youths in particular that hung around graffitied, drank alcohol, caused noise issues, and made messes with and left trash laying around.
There is indeed a notion that Japan is a safe country, and while that may overall be true, I would not describe Soshigaya Park as somewhere you could just leave a front door unlocked and not need to worry about anything or anyone.

The bathtub was full of water, hence being a reason the window was perhaps open slightly to let steam out before it was emptied. The balcony was used to dry laundry, hence being a reason why the latch may not have closed. My point being there would have been reasons for something left open and not just due to comfort in that the family did not need to care about security.
The family did not have a double lock on the door and bars on the 1F windows for no reason. Mikio was very security conscious.

Here is how Rei’s balcony windows were found (apologies for blurry images):
View attachment 557235
View attachment 557237
Laundry was hanging from them on the inside indicating someone brought it in for overnight. Notice the curtains are slightly pulled apart. Could this indicate someone climbed in through them? Or that the laundry was hastily brought in, hung up, and the latch and curtains not closed properly again? There has been no report that it was left open, unlike the window. But then again there have been no reports on many important factors up until the documentary last month… so one wonders.

Re: the bathroom window screen, there is perhaps a misconception this was just a screen that was cut out but it was not. It was an entire sliding metal structure that was pulled off. This is a task that takes time and is noisy, and isn’t able to just be cut or punched out. If you look at the way it was found I’d hesitate to say it was just thrown down and he climbed inside. Would it land so perfectly against the park fence if thrown? Or did he climb down with it and place it there before trying another way in?
View attachment 557236

Great photos and explanation, thank you!

What we don’t know is the timeline of the few previous days. There was the time when the whole family was out shopping. Someone could have pulled out the screen during that time.

The police didn’t find the fibers inside the window. However, I didn’t understand, does it mean that they didn’t find “any fibers at all”, or merely “no fibers c/w the clothes the intruder allegedly had on him”?

 

[Incoherent]

@Bobban if you search on YouTube there are skate video blogs of the crowds there back from the middle of the 00’s also. Most of the same type as you described. They caused much of the disturbance in the neighbourhood. Spend a few minutes there nowadays and you’ll see they still do.

@Charlot123 the TMPD have now confirmed that they did find clothing fibres around the bathroom window. We don’t know why until now it was reported that they didn’t.

 

[Bobban]

@Bobban if you search on YouTube there are skate video blogs of the crowds there back from the middle of the 00’s also. Most of the same type as you described. They caused much of the disturbance in the neighbourhood. Spend a few minutes there nowadays and you’ll see they still do.

@Charlot123 the TMPD have now confirmed that they did find clothing fibres around the bathroom window. We don’t know why until now it was reported that they didn’t.

@Incoherent yes it's a screenshot of one of the videos haha. A thought I also got while watching those videos was how prevalent the use of a fanny pack as a tight crossbody bag was. The bag left at the scene is stated to have a belt length of 83cm so it's not impossible it was worn across the chest. The size of the actual pouch and how low the bottom drops I imagine would be a hindrance for leg movements. Plus if you like street fashion enough to dress like a skater, why wouldn't you also wear your bag like a skater. This idea really doesn't change anything but maybe had police included a description of the bag worn differently it might have jogged a memory for someone. Though police might have evidence that it was not worn like that, I can't really speak on what the police should or shouldn't have done.

 

[Incoherent]

@Incoherent yes it's a screenshot of one of the videos haha. A thought I also got while watching those videos was how prevalent the use of a fanny pack as a tight crossbody bag was. The bag left at the scene is stated to have a belt length of 83cm so it's not impossible it was worn across the chest. The size of the actual pouch and how low the bottom drops I imagine would be a hindrance for leg movements. Plus if you like street fashion enough to dress like a skater, why wouldn't you also wear your bag like a skater. This idea really doesn't change anything but maybe had police included a description of the bag worn differently it might have jogged a memory for someone. Though police might have evidence that it was not worn like that, I can't really speak on what the police should or shouldn't have done.

Good point re: placement of the bag. It had the knife in it which left multiple slices in the material and for the sake of ease to pull the knife out, climbing balconies, fences, going through windows etc, and not accidentally stabbing himself, it could have made more sense it was worn across the body and not around the waist.

The size of the belt did play a factor in the estimates of the height and weight of the killer. Perhaps they’ve got it wrong and he was actually too big to get through the bathroom window and that’s why he abandoned it for the balcony instead? Maybe we’re looking for a heftier man instead of the incredibly skinny one he’d need to be to fit in the window (if he did go in or out of it). All of his clothing was sized large after all.

 

[Bobban]

Good point re: placement of the bag. It had the knife in it which left multiple slices in the material and for the sake of ease to pull the knife out, climbing balconies, fences, going through windows etc, and not accidentally stabbing himself, it could have made more sense it was worn across the body and not around the waist.

The size of the belt did play a factor in the estimates of the height and weight of the killer. Perhaps they’ve got it wrong and he was actually too big to get through the bathroom window and that’s why he abandoned it for the balcony instead? Maybe we’re looking for a heftier man instead of the incredibly skinny one he’d need to be to fit in the window (if he did go in or out of it). All of his clothing was sized large after all.

Yes but I think if he was too big to fit through the window he was probably too big to be able to hoist himself up on the balcony. However he wore the bag he was at least fit enough to get to the 2nd floor by hoisting himself someway. I'm not sure how they came to the conclusion that he was around 170cm. Possibly, they measured the wingspan of the jacket and just added the avrage size of hands to the final measurement to get his height. But this way of measuring can be very inaccurate unless your subject is the absolute avrage man. Multible of my family members for instance has a positive wingspan of ≈10cm, meaning: if you were to measure their wingspan and write that down as their height you would be overestimating their height by 10cm. Similarly a close friend of mine has the opposite build, short arm but long body.
If the 170cm was based off of the jacket I think people should consider the height more open like 165-175cm realistically.

 

[Incoherent]

Yes but I think if he was too big to fit through the window he was probably too big to be able to hoist himself up on the balcony.

RSBM: I do disagree here. The bathroom window has a height of 50cm and a width of 40cm. Not being able to fit through it would only determine that he wasn’t very skinny, not that he was too fat to climb up onto the car and over the balcony.
I say it many times but that window is very small.

 

[Incoherent]

To add, the clothing was a Japanese size L not a European or US size L. His clothing would be more along the lines of a European medium or a US medium/small.

 

[Bobban]

RSBM: I do disagree here. The bathroom window has a height of 50cm and a width of 40cm. Not being able to fit through it would only determine that he wasn’t very skinny, not that he was too fat to climb up onto the car and over the balcony.
I say it many times but that window is

You might be right on that, i really have no idea. After watching those recreation videos where a guy climbes in through the same size window, I've always thought as long as he got the shoulders and arms in everything else can be manipulated in somehow. Like how a mouse can fit through everything if it's head can get through. If anything like his belly actually stopped him and he couldn't manipulate it to get through I feel like he would have to be significantly rounder than the avrage japanese man/boy. Even when done with the jacket and bag on.

 

[Captain Hastings]

In terms of the park, does anyone know how busy it is at night? Would it be normal for it to be busy during the day and empty late at night or would people be using it 24/7?

 

[Captain Hastings]

Another question, not sure if anyone on here is familiar with the workings of US bases in Japan, if so perhaps you could help. What is the procedure for entry/exit from these bases? Is it a 24/7 situation or is there a curfew when entry would raise attention? If it's 24/7 would someone returning to the base in the middle of the night cause suspicion or is this a fairly normal occurrence?

 

[Bobban]

This might have been brought up before but I was looking through old photos from tokyo and saw a lot of young people wearing similar hats, if not identical hat to the one left at the crime scene. Gray snug hat with a black band, I've heard it being discussed to be a uniqlo brand hat but from what I've seen police hasn't stated a specific brand.
The hat seems to have been mass produced and common amongst younger people, particularly in skating circles or youngters interested in japanese street style at the time.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

This might have been brought up before but I was looking through old yokota high school yearbooks and in one of the photos an almost exact match, if not identical hat to the one left at the crime scene can be seen. Gray snug hat with a black band, I've heard it being discussed to be a uniqlo brand hat but from what I've seen police hasn't stated a specific brand.
This doesn't say a lot since the hat seems to have been mass produced and quite common but it at the very least says that a hat of that kind could make it's way into the base and was worn by the American Japanese high school age demographic.

Good catch! What year are you looking at? I want to go look IIRC I thought the Uniqlo brand was the jacket(?) I could be wrong though....

 

[Bobban]

@Lalalacasbah a lot of photos are available online of the relevant years from magazines and videos. (But let's keep from discussing the actual people in these photos/videos)

 

[FacelessPodcast]

@Lalalacasbah I'm not gonna point to it too clearly but it is publicly available in one of the yearbooks of the relevant years. (Let's keep from discussing the people in the photos)

To that end, I would respectfully ask people to keep their suspicions connected to real people (whether naming them or not) off WS. I learned this the hard way with a former user where the names of innocent people were plastered online because of those yearbooks.

Of course we can discuss anything in theory or with actual links / concrete sources.

I can’t lay down any rules here, of course, but it would be very much appreciated.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

Another question, not sure if anyone on here is familiar with the workings of US bases in Japan, if so perhaps you could help. What is the procedure for entry/exit from these bases? Is it a 24/7 situation or is there a curfew when entry would raise attention? If it's 24/7 would someone returning to the base in the middle of the night cause suspicion or is this a fairly normal occurrence?

This is discussed in some detail in earlier posts of mine / others. If you search through old posts, you can find it I’m sure.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

Some info from the 2000 yearbook, page 4. I guess they had a skate park on base as well and there's a mention about potential curfew @Captain Hastings.

However curfew was discussed up thread or previous threads and unsure they were set in stone so to speak! There are a couple skater pics with the caption below but nothing jumps out that I notice about them: