TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police are seeking a motive in the fatal stabbing of a female staff member at a speciality bar in Minato Ward early Sunday, reports Fuji News Network (Oct. 28).
At around 5:40 a.m., 49-year-old Hiroyuki Chiaki is alleged to have repeatedly stabbed Yuna Tanizawa, 18, inside the bar, located on the first floor of a multi-tenant building in the Shinbashi area.
When police from the Atago Police Station rushed to the scene, they found Tanizawa collapsed with stab wounds to the neck. She was taken to the hospital in critical condition but was later confirmed dead.
Police then arrested Chiaki on suspicion of attempted murder. “I stabbed her with a knife I brought with me,” he told police.
“We will not necessarily die in order of age”
The bar is a so-called “girl’s bar,” which is licensed as an eating and drinking establishment (inshokuten) but provides services close to those at a hostess club.
According to police, Chiaki arrived at the bar alone at around 11:00 p.m. the day before the incident. At one point, he started to act violently after talking with Tanizawa for about an hour. He is then believed to have used a fruit knife with a 10-centimeter-long blade to repeatedly stab Tanizawa.
After the attack, the bar manager held Chiaki down, and another bar staff member called police. An examination of Tanizawa’s body revealed that she had been stabbed about a dozen times, police said.
Chiaki lives in Gunma Prefecture. According to police, the suspect’s mother spoke to the suspect before he departed for Tokyo on October 26. “I asked him, ‘Are you going to Tokyo?’ He just said, ‘Yes.’ And he added, ‘We will not necessarily die in order of age.'”
Earlier this month, Tanizawa lodged a complaint with police. She said, “A man I met on a dating app stole my money.” That man is believed to be Chiaki.
Police have conducted a search of Chiaki’s residence in order to find evidence that might lead to a motive for the crime.
