Wife dies from highly poisonous methanol… Why a pharmaceutical company researcher’s “relationship went cold”?

His relationship with his wife had been on the rocks for several years. We were separated at home.”

This is what the man stated in response to police questioning.

On September 16, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Investigation Division 1 arrested Yoshida Yoshiharu, 40, a company employee living in Ota Ward, Tokyo, on suspicion of murder. He is said to have murdered his wife, Yoko (40), who lived in the same apartment building. Yoshida was a researcher at the Shinagawa Research and Development Center of Daiichi Sankyo, a major pharmaceutical company, and was involved in the development of new drugs.

He said, “My wife is not breathing. She is lying on the floor.

It was just after 7:30 a.m. on January 16 when Yoshida called 119 himself. He explained to the paramedics who arrived at the scene, “When I woke up in the morning, my wife was unconscious. She had been vomiting the day before, unable to speak fluently, and had been out of control, taking off her clothes and falling off the bed.

The name of the prestigious graduate school the couple left

“The suspect Yoshida said, ‘I put my wife to bed and checked on her the next day, and she wasn’t breathing. Yoko was quickly transported to the hospital, but was pronounced dead at the hospital. There were no significant external injuries on Yoko, and the police initially thought that she had died of illness.

However, as a result of the autopsy, a lethal dose of methanol was found in Yoko’s stomach. Methanol is a type of alcohol made from natural gas and is a highly toxic chemical. If even a trace amount enters the body, it can cause symptoms such as vomiting and headaches, and even death. The cause of Yoko’s death was acute methanol poisoning.

The police began investigating both the case and the suicide. As a result, they found no reason for Yoko to take her own life, and discovered that there was no methanol in her home, even though she had taken it by mouth. The police concluded that there was a strong possibility that the methanol had been mixed in by someone else, and ruled the deaths as homicides.

The suspect used methanol in the course of his work. There were no indications that a third party had intervened, and the police decided to arrest the suspect because they believed he had faked Yoko’s death. Yoko had been drinking paper cartons of shochu on a daily basis. It is believed that Yoshida laced the shochu with methanol beforehand. The suspect is a graduate student at Hokkaido University.

After completing a graduate course at Hokkaido University, Yoshida joined Daiichi Sankyo in 2007. D. and studied abroad in the U.S. for two years. Yoko, on the other hand, joined Daiichi Sankyo after graduating from the graduate school of Kyoto University, and left the company in 2010 when she married Yoshida, a fellow employee of the company, and lived with her three elementary school-age sons.

It seems that Mr. Yoshida was regarded as a problem within Daiichi Sankyo.

As of January (when Yoko-san died), Mr. Yoshida had been transferred to a new position. He was considered a person to watch out for. He was considered a person of note. The police were investigating, but the company could not fire him because he denied involvement. He was not coming to the company, but his employment continued,” said an employee of the company.

The couple’s relationship had been broken up for about five years.

The suspect told the investigators, “We were separated at home. According to the sources, the relationship was said to have deteriorated due to Yoshida’s unfaithfulness. The couple did not even talk to each other. However, he denies the charges, saying, ‘I never had the intention to kill my wife, and I never brought methanol into our home.

Daiichi Sankyo, the company for which Yoshida is suspected, issued a comment saying, “We take this matter very seriously and will fully cooperate with the police investigation. The company has stated that it will ensure the management and storage of methanol and other hazardous substances.