SHIZUOKA (TR) – At around 1:00 a.m. July 6, Ichiro Yamashita had a knife in each of his hands as he attacked two female employees at a so-called “girl’s bar” in Hamamatsu City.
In the end, female manager, 27-year-old Tomoka Takeuchi, and 26-year-old employee Rin Ito sustained more than 10 wounds each to their upper bodies, police later revealed.
Both Takeuchi and Ito were unconscious upon transport to a hospital.
Several hours later, they were both confirmed dead. The cause of death was loss of blood, police said.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of attempted murder over the stabbing of Takeuchi, Yamashita, who lives in Fukuroi City, admitted to the allegations. The charges were later changed to murder.
As police try to understand a motive for the crime, it has been revealed that suspect Yamashita seemingly had a more than friendly interest in Ito. In fact, he dined with the victim just days before the incident, reports site News Post Seven (July 9).
“Murderous intent”
Girl’s Bar NaNa is located in an entertainment district about 500 meters from JR Hamamatsu Station. Just before the incident, Yamashita brought Ito, who was not working, to the bar in his car.
According to police, the suspect was in possession of two curved kukri knives with 20-centimeter-long blades in each hand and stabbed the two women one after the other.
As soon as they entered the bar, he stabbed Takeuchi, who was working, multiple times. He then attacked Ito, who was trying to escape.
A reporter for a major newspaper tells News Post Seven that a kukri knife is known to be used by the Nepalese military. “This knife is highly lethal and is rarely used in general,” the reporter says. “Investigators believe that the man planned to use the weapon for murder and committed the crime with murderous intent.”
Two days after the crime, investigators searched the apartment of the suspect for evidence and clues as to the suspect’s motive.
The aforementioned reporter continues, “It seems that some police officials believe that the suspect may have had feelings for Ito. There may have been some kind of problem between the two, and the manager, Takeuchi, may have been caught up in it.”
Yamashita was a regular customer at the bar. He had dinner with Ito two days before the incident, which suggests that she was a personal favorite of the suspect. However, his relationship with Takeuchi remains unknown.
“A dead person can’t say anything”
Takeuchi’s husband opened Girl’s Bar NaNa in December 2023 after the completion of a renovation of another establishment he had run since 2016. Referred to as a girl’s bar, such an establishment provides services similar to those on offer at a hostess club.
On Tuesday, Takeuchi’s husband agreed to an interview with News Post Seven at his home.
“I don’t know anything about the cause of the incident either,” he said. “I want to know. One thing I can say is that a dead person can’t say anything, and once they’re dead it’s all over! You’re the same, aren’t you? You can eat good food because you’re alive, right?”
He went on, “There’s no way there’s a reason. It’s hard to answer questions about the cause.”
At first, Takeuchi’s husband was tight-lipped, but gradually he began to reveal what was on his mind. He also spoke angrily about Yamashita.
“I’ve had drinks with the suspect, too,” he said. “He was a customer. But would you think that your family would be killed by a regular customer? Would you think that your house would be set on fire by someone you met yesterday? I don’t think you would. I’ve always looked at these kinds of news and incidents as if they were someone else’s problem, and I’d talk about them, but how would you feel if you were in this position?”
He added that cannot watch the news at all. “Today, three friends were with me from morning to night, so I’m somehow able to keep my cool,” he said. “But if they weren’t, I don’t know what I would do. That’s how bad the situation is.”
