Japan - The Monster with 21 Faces - Japan’s Unsolved Glico-Morinaga Corporate Blackmail Campaign 1984-1985

[Gummyshoe]

A group (or individual) calling themselves “The Monster with 21 Faces” waged psychological warfare against some of Japan’s largest food companies, beginning with the kidnapping of the president of Glico, followed by a year-long blackmail campaign that would terrorize the entire nation. This criminal(s) taunted police, mocked the media, and terrorized the public by threatening to poison store-bought candy and snacks. Despite intense surveillance, multiple sting operations, and a nationwide manhunt, the Monster was never caught.

Designated Incident No. 114 by Japanese authorities; In this thread I will be introducing the monster with 21 faces.

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Case Summary:

• Location: Japan (Osaka, Tokyo, and surrounding areas)
• Timeframe: March 1984 – August 1985
• Crimes: Kidnapping, blackmail, arson, product tampering threats
• Companies Targeted: Glico, Morinaga, House Foods, Marudai Ham
• Status: Unsolved

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Letters:

April 8 1984 (link)

To the police fools,
Are you all stupid? What the hell are you doing with all that manpower? If you're professionals then come on, catch us! We'll give you a hint since you're so handicapped: there are none of us among Ezaki's relatives, there are none of us among the Nishinomiya police, there are none of us among the Flood Prevention Corps. The car I bought was gray, and the food I bought was from Daiei. If you want more information, ask us for it in the newspapers. After telling you all this, you should be able to catch us. If you can't, then you're just tax leeches. Shall we kidnap the head of the prefectural police, too?

April 23 1984 (link)

To police fools. You shouldn’t lie. If you lie, you steal. I also sent this to the Koshien police. Why are you lying. Don’t hide things. Why are you complaining? You guys are having such a hard time, so I will give you a hint. I entered the factory from the side staff entrance. The typewriter we used is PAN-writer. The plastic container used was a piece of street garbage.
Monster with 21 faces

November 1 1984 (link)

To President, you saw our power didn’t you? If you disobey us we will destroy your company. You will get killed. Decide whether you want to give us money or do you want to see your company destroyed? Tell us in the Mainichi Newspaper on either the 5th or 6th of November. Use the missing persons. Use these words in the reply: Jiro, Morinaga, Mother, Police, Bad friend, Money, Meal. As we said before we want two hundred million yen.
Monster with 21 faces

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Key Events Timeline:

• March 18, 1984: Katsuhisa Ezaki, president of Glico, is kidnapped from his home by masked men. He escapes 3 days later.
• April–June 1984: A series of fires and threats against Glico facilities. The criminals demand 1 billion yen and 100 kg of gold.
• June 26, 1984: A letter signed “The Monster with 21 Faces” is sent to the media, declaring they’ve laced Glico products with cyanide.
• November 1984: The focus shifts to Morinaga, another major confectionary company. Poison-laced packages begin appearing in stores, some real, some fake.
• 1985: The group continues targeting various food companies, threatening to kill executives or destroy reputations.
• August 1985: Superintendent Yamamoto of the Shiga Prefectural Police commits suicide in shame over the case. The group sends a final message:

Yamamoto of Shiga Prefecture Police died. How stupid of him! We've got no friends or secret hiding place in Shiga. It's Yoshino or Shikata who should have died. What have they been doing for as long as one year and five months? Don't let bad guys like us get away with it. There are many more fools who want to copy us. No-career Yamamoto died like a man. So we decided to give our condolence. We decided to forget about torturing food-making companies. If anyone blackmails any of the food-making companies, it's not us but someone copying us. We are bad guys. That means we've got more to do other than bullying companies. It's fun to lead a bad man's life. Monster with 21 Faces

And just like that, the monster disappeared.

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Suspects / Theories:

• The “Fox-Eyed Man:” A mysterious individual seen during ransom drops and stakeouts.
• The Video Taped Man: A man wearing a baseball cap was caught placing Glico chocolate on a store shelf by a security camera, one of the containers with cyanide was later found here.
• The Video Tape Gang: A theory involving former yakuza members, commonly associated with the Manabu Miyazaki, son of yakuza boss. Had solid alibi but some still theorize.
• Inside Job? Some believe the attackers had inside info from corporations or police

So I leave it with you, what do you guys think about this case?