A 40-year-old South Korean woman was killed in Tokyo’s Setagaya ward on Monday afternoon. She was found covered in blood by a bystander shortly after 1:30 p.m. Her throat had been slashed. Transported to a hospital, she was pronounced dead approximately 90 minutes later. A South Korean man aged 30, believed to have been her boyfriend, was apprehended by the police at Haneda Airport on Monday evening. He was seen fleeing the scene by witnesses.
The suspect is accused of stabbing the victim on the premises of an office building where she was going to work. According to NHK, he started dating the woman in April. After she suggested they break up, he allegedly assaulted her. The woman reported the assault to the police, who moved her to what they considered a safe place. They also gave the man a verbal warning and told him to return to South Korea.
A Disturbing Pattern: Recent Cases of Femicide Across Japan
Asahi Okazaki: Repeated Calls for Police Intervention
It’s the latest case of femicide in Japan this year. In April, the body of 20-year-old Asahi Okazaki was found in a bag at the home of her ex-boyfriend. She had gone missing on December 20, 2024. Hideyuki Shirai, 27, was arrested on May 3. Okazaki’s family members reported that she called the police nine times in the two weeks before she went missing. The victim’s father also accused the police of botching the investigation after she disappeared.
Megumi Katayama: The Danger of Repeat Offenders
A high-profile case of non-intimate femicide occurred on August 20 when Megumi Katayama, 24, was found bleeding to death from multiple stab wounds in front of the elevator on the sixth-floor of her apartment building in Kobe. Masashi Tanimoto, 35, was arrested three days later. He told the police he didn’t know the victim at all. Tanimoto allegedly received a suspended sentence three years ago for stalking and assaulting another woman. He also reportedly targeted a different woman three days before the murder of Katayama.
Domestic Violence Turned Fatal: Akari Nakamura and Sumi Mochida
A day after the stabbing in Kobe, Ken Mochida, a 33-year-old unemployed man, was arrested in Hiroshima on suspicion of killing his 61-year-old mother, Sumi, at their home. She was stabbed multiple times in the neck and other areas. Her husband returned home and told the police he found her covered in blood and unconscious. The suspect was arrested on August 22. According to the police, he initially remained quiet during questioning.
On August 26, Akari Nakamura, 30, was found collapsed in her home in Chiba Prefecture. She was pronounced dead shortly after. Police arrested her boyfriend, Aoi Yasuda, 30. He allegedly struck Nakamura multiple times in the face and back with a stick. Yasuda admitted to the charges, telling officers, “We had an argument over housework, which escalated into a fight. I struck her all over her body for about 20 minutes.”
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