Shibamata Student Murder Case: Witness Testimonies and DNA Evidence Exist, But 29 Years Later, The Truth Remains Elusive

Twenty-nine years have passed since the horrific incident

“As of last year, it has been over 10,000 days. Can you all imagine how we feel every night when we close the Buddhist altar before going to bed? Once again, we, the bereaved family, deeply feel the weight of this overwhelming number.”

In 1996, Junko Kobayashi (then 21), a Sophia University student, was murdered and her house set on fire in Shibamata, Katsushika Ward, Tokyo—an unresolved case. On September 9th, marking 29 years since the incident, her father Kenji (79) spoke quietly to the gathered reporters, drenched in sweat under the intense heat.

On that day, a flower offering ceremony was held at the site of the former home. Kenji and other family members, officers from the Kameari Police Station, and local residents laid flowers and prayed in front of the “Junko Jizo,” a statue established to pray for Junko’s soul after the incident. After the ceremony, Kenji handed out flyers calling for information alongside volunteers near Shibamata Station in the evening.

Around 4:30 p.m. on September 9, 1996, a fire broke out at the Kobayashi residence. Approximately two hours later, after the fire was extinguished, Junko’s body was found in the ruins with multiple stab wounds to the neck. Her mouth and hands had been taped shut, her legs bound with stockings, and her body covered with a futon. Junko was scheduled to study abroad in Seattle, USA, just two days later.

“The police initially suspected the crime was driven by grudges. Because the neck was repeatedly stabbed and the body was covered with a futon, it was suggested that the perpetrator might have been someone Junko knew. Also, it was revealed that about 10 days before the incident, Junko had been followed by an unknown man and had expressed feelings of danger.

The police investigated Junko and her family’s surroundings but found no particular trouble. Even if the crime had been a spontaneous theft, only 10,000 yen in a drawer was missing, while several tens of thousands of yen and bankbooks prepared for Junko’s study abroad remained untouched,” said a reporter from a national newspaper’s social affairs department.

The police received multiple eyewitness reports of suspicious people. Among them, in 2004, the police released a sketch of a middle-aged man in a yellowish-brown coat who was seen standing in front of the Kobayashi residence around 3:55 p.m. just before the incident, but this did not lead to an arrest. Over the years, Kenji and his wife Sachiko have actively continued calling for information. Together with families of other murder victims, they successfully petitioned for the abolition of the statute of limitations on murder cases in April 2010. The investigation is still ongoing, and new facts have been uncovered.

The Key DNA and the Man in the Yellowish-Brown Coat

“In 2014, when the blood found on the futon covering Junko’s body was examined using the latest technology, male DNA different from the family’s was detected. This DNA matched the blood found on a matchbox dropped at the entrance, and it is believed to have come from the perpetrator who was injured when stabbing Junko.

Also, in 2021, new eyewitness testimony emerged regarding a suspicious person. About 25 minutes before the middle-aged man in a yellowish-brown coat’ was seen at the Kobayashi residence, a similar person was spotted standing at an intersection about 15 meters away. The police believe this is the same individual,” said the same source.

According to an investigation by Asahi Shimbun, there have been at least 369 unsolved murder and robbery-murder cases since 1995, with 70% of those occurring before 2004.

“In the last decade, unsolved cases have drastically decreased thanks to the increase of security cameras and advances in DNA technology. Since 2013 for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and 2015 for Osaka Prefectural Police, there have been zero unsolved cases. Especially, the accuracy of DNA testing has improved dramatically since its introduction, helping solve cases that remained unresolved for many years. However, as time passes, witnesses and related persons may pass away or become unavailable, making investigations more difficult. Although the statute of limitations has been abolished, it is common for investigative resources to shrink over time.

The National Police Agency issued a notice the year after the statute of limitations was abolished stating that at some point, it may be appropriate to consider ending investigations on unsolved cases and send the accumulated investigation results to prosecutors. The conditions for this consideration are when the suspect on a wanted list turns 100 years old or when 30 years have passed since the incident. However, investigations may continue taking into account the feelings of the bereaved families. The Shibamata case, reaching its 30th year next year, may see such continuation due to the family’s vigorous efforts,” explained a crime writer.

At the flower offering ceremony, Kenji said his greatest fear is the fading memory of the case. He expressed his determination, saying, “We will never give up and will continue to send this message so that the perpetrator can hear the thoughts of the bereaved family.”

No matter what happens, the case will not end until the perpetrator is caught.