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

[Lalalacasbah]

I always assume someone with bad intension is watching, not as bad of intentions as murder but a theif who is looking for opportunities because the smallest thing could be an opportunity to someone (especially during holiday times when robbers are scouting out neighborhoods.)

A childhood friend of mine down the street were robbed during summer vacation when her, her mom and a friend had a sleepover in the play house in their backyard. Somehow, a robber who was scouting the neighborhood had overheard them talking about how they were gonna keep the back door open if they needed to use the bathroom or got scared. In the early hours of the morning her father who slept in the house woke up to rattling sounds and went downstairs to check and found a random man going through their drawer. The robber scurried away with a few valuables but thankfully no one was hurt.

Its unsettling to know now after the fact that someone was behind the hedges in the yard listening in on what they spoke about and made their own plans around theirs.

So now during the holliday times, throw an extra eye on your neighbours house if they're traveling. If there is snow, walk up to their door to leave some prints or drive up their driveway to leave signs of activity

100% so creepy! I can't imagine.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

+ Wanna add to my own story that my childhood friend's family always kept all doors locked at all times, even during the day despite it being a really good area. The one day they didn't it became an opportunity for a stranger who by extraordinary chance was within range to overhear and in business to act.

Crime of opportunity. Scary stuff.

 

[Incoherent]

In a recent interview with a TMPD investigator on the case, it was confirmed that they have even gone as far as using satellite imagery in an attempt to see if any suspicious cars or people were seen going and leaving the area around the house.
The investigator also laments that at that time there was insufficient CCTV to be able to spot the culprit on camera.

It is also reported that the investigator said that foreigners and people related to the Miura peninsula are also on the line of investigation.

Kodansha
Yahoo news

 

[Lalalacasbah]

In a recent interview with a TMPD investigator on the case, it was confirmed that they have even gone as far as using satellite imagery in an attempt to see if any suspicious cars or people were seen going and leaving the area around the house.
The investigator also laments that at that time there was insufficient CCTV to be able to spot the culprit on camera.

It is also reported that the investigator said that foreigners and people related to the Miura peninsula are also on the line of investigation.

Kodansha
Yahoo news

I need a refresh sorry

What is the relevance of Miura Peninsula again? That's the other place in Japan that might have similar sand other than maybe being from US? Sounds like this has been debated many times I think: Miura vs Edwards. Miura had military bases as well is that right?

Did the investigator mention Miura publicly before or is this the first time? If so, are they trying to spook the killer?

 

[Incoherent]

I need a refresh sorry

What is the relevance of Miura Peninsula again? That's the other place in Japan that might have similar sand other than maybe being from US? Sounds like this has been debated many times I think: Miura vs Edwards. Miura had military bases as well is that right?

Did the investigator mention Miura publicly before or is this the first time? If so, are they trying to spook the killer?

Miura hosts the Yokosuka Naval Base, yes. It’s where one of the sand samples from the hip bag has been reported to have come from.
This is the first time it’s been publicly stated by a TMPD investigator that Miura and foreigners are on the line of investigation.

In all honesty it’s a pretty huge statement.

 

[Eliver]

Miura hosts the Yokosuka Naval Base, yes. It’s where one of the sand samples from the hip bag has been reported to have come from.
This is the first time it’s been publicly stated by a TMPD investigator that Miura and foreigners are on the line of investigation.

In all honesty it’s a pretty huge statement.

Pretty huge statement indeed.

Even though they are still not commenting about the US bases, to my knowledge this is one of the very few times in 25 years where they have clearly stated that the possibility of a foreign culprit is being pursued.

In the past they have never went this far about this specific topic.

Also wondering what became of the individual that broke into the house a couple of weeks ago.
Still no update on that one.

 

[FacelessPodcast]

It is also reported that the investigator said that foreigners and people related to the Miura peninsula are also on the line of investigation.

Kodansha
Yahoo news

RSBM: fancy that…

 

[Lalalacasbah]

Miura hosts the Yokosuka Naval Base, yes. It’s where one of the sand samples from the hip bag has been reported to have come from.
This is the first time it’s been publicly stated by a TMPD investigator that Miura and foreigners are on the line of investigation.

In all honesty it’s a pretty huge statement.

So if someone had the means to do a deep dive into that base for that year...................

The list of suspects might not be that big.

*ETA: IF and a big IF.... that is a place connected. More questions that never end.

 

[Incoherent]

So if someone had the means to do a deep dive into that base for that year...................

The list of suspects might not be that big.

*ETA: IF and a big IF.... that is a place connected. More questions that never end.

The thing is the air force and naval bases regularly have visitors from other bases around Japan for various reasons. In terms of high school students, for arguments sake, they regularly flew between the bases throughout the year for competitions and performances, etc. I am also sure personnel were flying in and out of Japan regularly and travelling around.

If the TMPD could even access that kind of private information they would also need to factor in who else was there and where they came from, when did they arrive, leave, etc. It is a monumental task and not one I’m sure they’d even have the authority to perform let alone tackle it.

In theory it could be done if they had the necessary assistance, but even though an investigator has said for the first time a foreigner may be involved there has still never been been a word on people from those bases. However, mentioning the Miura peninsula and foreigners to anyone would bring up the naval base almost instantly. It’s like 2+2=4. In my opinion it is saying it without actually outright saying it.

Re: the break-in, IIRC the kid that graffitied on the fence took the police about 2 months to find. Whoever they are I’m sure they’re on their tail and releasing any information could alert them to the police closing in.
That, and since they moved things and went to the second floor they’ll need to throughly check nothing has been stolen and if something has what it was. I believe all those boxes of the Miyazawa possessions are still in there, at least according to photos taken a few years ago they are.

 

[Incoherent]

There’s been some news on the Jizo.

The TMPD have received 45 tips on the statue since posting the information on the Stone Association website, one of those being that someone has found that the markings and characters on the Jizo found by the side of the river are the same as ones found on Jizo sold on a particular stonemasonry website.

They are now investigating to see if they’ve found where the Jizo may have come from.

KSB News link

 

[Eliver]

There’s been some news on the Jizo.

The TMPD have received 45 tips on the statue since posting the information on the Stone Association website, one of those being that someone has found that the markings and characters on the Jizo found by the side of the river are the same as ones found on Jizo sold on a particular stonemasonry website.

They are now investigating to see if they’ve found where the Jizo may have come from.

KSB News link

I'm not knowledgeable enough about this topic so I might be wrong, but I'm imagining there are not many manufacturers, are there? So I'm wondering how hard could it have been for the police to track down one in 25 years even without the recent tips?

 

[Incoherent]

I'm not knowledgeable enough about this topic so I might be wrong, but I'm imagining there are not many manufacturers, are there? So I'm wondering how hard could it have been for the police to track down one in 25 years even without the recent tips?

You’re right, Jizo can be very distinguishable by stonemason.

To answer in my own opinion: to be able to find this link wouldn’t have been difficult in the slightest. In the big year of 2025 they’re only just now thinking to put a link on a website. It’s quite astounding if I’m being honest.

Regardless, at least a potential link has been made.

Onward.

 

[Eliver]

In the big year of 2025 they’re only just now thinking to put a link on a website. It’s quite astounding if I’m being honest.

My thoughts exactly...

 

[plasticchain]

Hi everyone,

I only learned about this case about two weeks ago and I can't get it out of my head. I feel like I have a decent grasp of the information that is out there and I'd like to throw in my 2 cents. I feel the perpetrator was either a US Air Force brat or someone that was in a psychotic state because of how disorganized the crime scene is. But I strongly lean towards the former and I'd like to share why, most of it deduced from the clothing:

The clothing to me is very clearly what a teen would wear at that time, and not what an adult would wear or just random clothes that someone bought to throw people off. For instance, the fact that the jacket had only been released for sale a couple months prior. This gives me the impression that this person/their parents have money. These were not just thrift store or on sale items. Especially looking at the Drakkar Noir cologne/after shave, that was not cheap and something that just anyone would be able to afford. The sweatshirt looks like a baseball tee which was and still is popular here in the US.

The shoes. My inclination is that these shoes were in fact purchased in Korea. It was very common for military families in Japan to take trips to Korea since it is the closest country nearby BUT back in 2000 it wasn't very common for Japanese people to visit Korea as the hostility between the two countries was still pretty prevelant. It wasn't until around 2002-2003 when the K-drama craze hit Japan that tourism took off. Also, the shoe size is above average for the average Japanese man. Hence why that size was not sold in Japan, therefore, pointing to someone with mixed heritage. Sidenote: Korea did not start fingerprinting people who entered the country until around 2010.

Next, is the creating a folder/clicking on the favorites tab on the computer and fingerprints on the mouse. This strongly indicates to me that this person did not speak Japanese and that is why they did not use the keyboard.

Lastly, why did this person commit the crime so early and take a bigger risk of being caught? Well maybe because it was a teenager who knew he couldn't stay out all night. I could easily see a teenager at that time asking his parents if he can go with his friends and promising he'll be back by 1am. I also think it's very possible that he and his family lived off base.

And of course, we have the sand from Edwards AFB, which I think is way too much of a coincidence given the DNA makeup.

In my opinion this was a thrill kill. I don't think that this person had any prior contact with the family other than possibly watching them from the park prior to determine their normal movements. He stayed as long as he could to revel in what he did because he had wanted to do this for a long time.

I have no idea why he chose this family but the soundproofing of the house makes a lot of sense as to why no one heard anything except a thud.

I'm wondering if anyone has searched the students in the Yokota HS yearbook in depth enough to see their actions after graduating. I realize this is super controversial and there should be no naming of names, but just wondering if anyone has gleaned any useful info from this before I try to do a deep dive. And of course, I realize them attending the school is completely speculation and no one should ever be suspected simply for attending.

Thanks for anyone that read this far and shout out to @FacelessPodcast for all the info you were able to obtain. You are a fanctastic podcast host!

 

[Eliver]

Hi everyone,

I only learned about this case about two weeks ago and I can't get it out of my head. I feel like I have a decent grasp of the information that is out there and I'd like to throw in my 2 cents. I feel the perpetrator was either a US Air Force brat or someone that was in a psychotic state because of how disorganized the crime scene is. But I strongly lean towards the former and I'd like to share why, most of it deduced from the clothing:

The clothing to me is very clearly what a teen would wear at that time, and not what an adult would wear or just random clothes that someone bought to throw people off. For instance, the fact that the jacket had only been released for sale a couple months prior. This gives me the impression that this person/their parents have money. These were not just thrift store or on sale items. Especially looking at the Drakkar Noir cologne/after shave, that was not cheap and something that just anyone would be able to afford. The sweatshirt looks like a baseball tee which was and still is popular here in the US.

The shoes. My inclination is that these shoes were in fact purchased in Korea. It was very common for military families in Japan to take trips to Korea since it is the closest country nearby BUT back in 2000 it wasn't very common for Japanese people to visit Korea as the hostility between the two countries was still pretty prevelant. It wasn't until around 2002-2003 when the K-drama craze hit Japan that tourism took off. Also, the shoe size is above average for the average Japanese man. Hence why that size was not sold in Japan, therefore, pointing to someone with mixed heritage. Sidenote: Korea did not start fingerprinting people who entered the country until around 2010.

Next, is the creating a folder/clicking on the favorites tab on the computer and fingerprints on the mouse. This strongly indicates to me that this person did not speak Japanese and that is why they did not use the keyboard.

Lastly, why did this person commit the crime so early and take a bigger risk of being caught? Well maybe because it was a teenager who knew he couldn't stay out all night. I could easily see a teenager at that time asking his parents if he can go with his friends and promising he'll be back by 1am. I also think it's very possible that he and his family lived off base.

And of course, we have the sand from Edwards AFB, which I think is way too much of a coincidence given the DNA makeup.

In my opinion this was a thrill kill. I don't think that this person had any prior contact with the family other than possibly watching them from the park prior to determine their normal movements. He stayed as long as he could to revel in what he did because he had wanted to do this for a long time.

I have no idea why he chose this family but the soundproofing of the house makes a lot of sense as to why no one heard anything except a thud.

I'm wondering if anyone has searched the students in the Yokota HS yearbook in depth enough to see their actions after graduating. I realize this is super controversial and there should be no naming of names, but just wondering if anyone has gleaned any useful info from this before I try to do a deep dive. And of course, I realize them attending the school is completely speculation and no one should ever be suspected simply for attending.

Thanks for anyone that read this far and shout out to @FacelessPodcast for all the info you were able to obtain. You are a fanctastic podcast host!

Every point you raised was discussed at length and in-depth in the previous 3 threads and also reflects what many people on here already think about the perpetrator.

Not sure if you already did, but just in case I suggest you read through all of them (might take some time though)

 

[dotr]

Hi everyone,

I only learned about this case about two weeks ago and I can't get it out of my head. I feel like I have a decent grasp of the information that is out there and I'd like to throw in my 2 cents. I feel the perpetrator was either a US Air Force brat or someone that was in a psychotic state because of how disorganized the crime scene is. But I strongly lean towards the former and I'd like to share why, most of it deduced from the clothing:

The clothing to me is very clearly what a teen would wear at that time, and not what an adult would wear or just random clothes that someone bought to throw people off. For instance, the fact that the jacket had only been released for sale a couple months prior. This gives me the impression that this person/their parents have money. These were not just thrift store or on sale items. Especially looking at the Drakkar Noir cologne/after shave, that was not cheap and something that just anyone would be able to afford. The sweatshirt looks like a baseball tee which was and still is popular here in the US.

The shoes. My inclination is that these shoes were in fact purchased in Korea. It was very common for military families in Japan to take trips to Korea since it is the closest country nearby BUT back in 2000 it wasn't very common for Japanese people to visit Korea as the hostility between the two countries was still pretty prevelant. It wasn't until around 2002-2003 when the K-drama craze hit Japan that tourism took off. Also, the shoe size is above average for the average Japanese man. Hence why that size was not sold in Japan, therefore, pointing to someone with mixed heritage. Sidenote: Korea did not start fingerprinting people who entered the country until around 2010.

Next, is the creating a folder/clicking on the favorites tab on the computer and fingerprints on the mouse. This strongly indicates to me that this person did not speak Japanese and that is why they did not use the keyboard.

Lastly, why did this person commit the crime so early and take a bigger risk of being caught? Well maybe because it was a teenager who knew he couldn't stay out all night. I could easily see a teenager at that time asking his parents if he can go with his friends and promising he'll be back by 1am. I also think it's very possible that he and his family lived off base.

And of course, we have the sand from Edwards AFB, which I think is way too much of a coincidence given the DNA makeup.

In my opinion this was a thrill kill. I don't think that this person had any prior contact with the family other than possibly watching them from the park prior to determine their normal movements. He stayed as long as he could to revel in what he did because he had wanted to do this for a long time.

I have no idea why he chose this family but the soundproofing of the house makes a lot of sense as to why no one heard anything except a thud.

I'm wondering if anyone has searched the students in the Yokota HS yearbook in depth enough to see their actions after graduating. I realize this is super controversial and there should be no naming of names, but just wondering if anyone has gleaned any useful info from this before I try to do a deep dive. And of course, I realize them attending the school is completely speculation and no one should ever be suspected simply for attending.

Thanks for anyone that read this far and shout out to @FacelessPodcast for all the info you were able to obtain. You are a fanctastic podcast host!

Welcome to Ws @plasticchain, there is a lot to unpack, glad you found the case here!

 

[Incoherent]

The idea he didn’t know Japanese because he didn’t touch the keyboard is redundant because the keyboard had Roman letters in the QWERTY layout on them, as well as Japanese. You don’t need to know Japanese to open a web browser and start typing. URL’s are not written in Japanese.
The fact he didn’t touch it isn’t any indication of that. What is more likely is he was just clicking around while he sat finished the ice cream and then stopped using it.

 

[plasticchain]

Every point you raised was discussed at length and in-depth in the previous 3 threads and also reflects what many people on here already think about the perpetrator.

Not sure if you already did, but just in case I suggest you read through all of them (might take some time though)

Hi,

Yes I'm aware that this is the prevailing theory but I've seen a lot of people asking even in this thread about the clothes looking like they were staged or the person couldn't have visited Korea because of fingerprinting, or how could a teenager get back home at this hour without a driver's license unnoticed and I was trying to point out why these things could still point to the main theory. Maybe I missed some things in the previous threads but my motivation was putting together all of the details that also lead me to the main theory, which I haven't seen all in one place in the threads.

 

[plasticchain]

The idea he didn’t know Japanese because he didn’t touch the keyboard is redundant because the keyboard had Roman letters in the QWERTY layout on them, as well as Japanese. You don’t need to know Japanese to open a web browser and start typing. URL’s are not written in Japanese.
The fact he didn’t touch it isn’t any indication of that. What is more likely is he was just clicking around while he sat finished the ice cream and then stopped using it.nguage only.

This is really helpful, thank you! I also have a 2 langauge keyboard but just assumed they didn't exist back then because I previously had to buy stickers to have both.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

Hi everyone,

I only learned about this case about two weeks ago and I can't get it out of my head. I feel like I have a decent grasp of the information that is out there and I'd like to throw in my 2 cents. I feel the perpetrator was either a US Air Force brat or someone that was in a psychotic state because of how disorganized the crime scene is. But I strongly lean towards the former and I'd like to share why, most of it deduced from the clothing:

The clothing to me is very clearly what a teen would wear at that time, and not what an adult would wear or just random clothes that someone bought to throw people off. For instance, the fact that the jacket had only been released for sale a couple months prior. This gives me the impression that this person/their parents have money. These were not just thrift store or on sale items. Especially looking at the Drakkar Noir cologne/after shave, that was not cheap and something that just anyone would be able to afford. The sweatshirt looks like a baseball tee which was and still is popular here in the US.

The shoes. My inclination is that these shoes were in fact purchased in Korea. It was very common for military families in Japan to take trips to Korea since it is the closest country nearby BUT back in 2000 it wasn't very common for Japanese people to visit Korea as the hostility between the two countries was still pretty prevelant. It wasn't until around 2002-2003 when the K-drama craze hit Japan that tourism took off. Also, the shoe size is above average for the average Japanese man. Hence why that size was not sold in Japan, therefore, pointing to someone with mixed heritage. Sidenote: Korea did not start fingerprinting people who entered the country until around 2010.

Next, is the creating a folder/clicking on the favorites tab on the computer and fingerprints on the mouse. This strongly indicates to me that this person did not speak Japanese and that is why they did not use the keyboard.

Lastly, why did this person commit the crime so early and take a bigger risk of being caught? Well maybe because it was a teenager who knew he couldn't stay out all night. I could easily see a teenager at that time asking his parents if he can go with his friends and promising he'll be back by 1am. I also think it's very possible that he and his family lived off base.

And of course, we have the sand from Edwards AFB, which I think is way too much of a coincidence given the DNA makeup.

In my opinion this was a thrill kill. I don't think that this person had any prior contact with the family other than possibly watching them from the park prior to determine their normal movements. He stayed as long as he could to revel in what he did because he had wanted to do this for a long time.

I have no idea why he chose this family but the soundproofing of the house makes a lot of sense as to why no one heard anything except a thud.

I'm wondering if anyone has searched the students in the Yokota HS yearbook in depth enough to see their actions after graduating. I realize this is super controversial and there should be no naming of names, but just wondering if anyone has gleaned any useful info from this before I try to do a deep dive. And of course, I realize them attending the school is completely speculation and no one should ever be suspected simply for attending.

Thanks for anyone that read this far and shout out to @FacelessPodcast for all the info you were able to obtain. You are a fanctastic podcast host!

Welcome! Some good points and always nice to hear new sleuther's input.

Not everyone has time to read through a gazillion pages on here especially if most of us follow many other cases on the forum not just one

It can be hard to keep up with all the details - myself included. I'm constantly asking questions from expert posters on this thread: eliver, incoherant and faceless/Nick as I forget answers too, or just on information overload or immersed in another case on here.

Keep posting ideas and hope 2026 is the year for a big break