Trial Opens in Manila Murder of Japanese Man: Low-Cost Contract Killing Market Exposed

“On August 15, the ‘Manila shooting incident in which two Japanese nationals were killed’ occurred. The trial of the two perpetrators began in the Philippines on November 12. Nonfiction writer Takehide Mizutani—who has experience covering incidents involving Japanese nationals and social issues affecting the Japanese community as a reporter for the Daily Manila Shimbun—delves into the truth behind this bizarre case and the shadowy underworld of the Philippines that lies beneath it.”

Approaching from behind and shooting them in the head

“Take the bag. There’s a lot of money inside.” —

This was the instruction the perpetrator gave to the hitman waiting at the scene while he was traveling by taxi, according to a press conference by local police regarding the mid-August shooting incident in Manila in which two Japanese men were killed. Although the arrested brothers initially stated that they had been hired by a Japanese mastermind, they now claim innocence. The trial, which began on the 12th of this month in the Manila Regional Trial Court, is drawing significant attention.

According to local police, those arrested were Abel Manabat (62 at the time) and his younger brother Alberto Manabat (50 at the time). The incident occurred late at night on August 15. Abel, seated in the taxi’s front passenger seat, called and gave the taxi’s plate number while instructing, “Take the bag.” The person on the phone was his brother Alberto, the hitman who carried out the attack. In the back seat of the taxi were the victims, Hideaki Satori (53) and Akinobu Nakayama (41).

Alberto waited near the scene for about three hours. When the two victims got out of the taxi, he approached them from behind and shot each in the head, then fled on a motorcycle driven by an accomplice. He is believed to have changed clothes afterward to conceal his tracks. Meanwhile, Abel’s behavior immediately after the incident was suspicious. The local police chief stated at the press conference:

“After getting out of the taxi, Abel did not contact the police. Instead, he went to a nearby 7-Eleven and bought beer—he was caught on security cameras. He then returned to the hotel where they were staying and checked out, but he did not inform the hotel that the two men he had been staying with had been shot.”

The three had been staying at the upscale Midas Hotel & Casino, located next to the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines. Among the belongings of the deceased Satori, a bankbook showing a balance of around 40 million yen was found, but there was no cash. Another bag, believed to have been taken by the perpetrators, contained about 100,000 pesos (about 260,000 yen). Meanwhile, the expensive wristwatches the victims were wearing were left untouched. Based on this, the police chief offered the following analysis of the incident’s background:

“It appears the motive was not robbery, but a financial dispute. The two victims had been visiting the Philippines for tourism once every one to two months. The crime may have been planned during one of their previous visits. Satori also had a tattoo on his back.”

Many homemade guns in circulation

The brothers had initially testified that they were hired by a Japanese mastermind for 9 million pesos (about 23 million yen), but in reality, they received only a 10,000-peso down payment (about 26,000 yen). Local police are continuing their investigation in cooperation with Tokyo Metropolitan Police detectives sent from Japan, suspecting that the mastermind commissioned the killing through the brothers and the group they belonged to.

In the past, contract killings targeting Japanese nationals have also occurred in the Philippines. In a case between 2014 and 2015 in Manila, where two Japanese men—including the director of an osteopathic clinic—were murdered after having large life insurance policies taken out on them, their acquaintance Toshihiko Iwama (sentenced to death in Japan; died in prison in 2023) had hired local hitmen. The payment was 200,000 yen (according to the first-trial judgment).

In another case on Mindanao Island in December 2005, where a 25-year-old Japanese man insured for 100 million yen was strangled, a Japanese carpenter arrested for murder confessed to police that he had paid a Filipino intermediary 640,000 yen to arrange the killing. And in a 2001 incident where a former postal worker (40) was found stabbed to death in Manila Bay, the ringleader, a Japanese man, reportedly paid the Filipino perpetrator only about 10,000 pesos.

The reality that hitmen can be hired with money — A high-ranking Philippine official explains:

“Depending on the target, it’s true that some hitmen will take on a killing for as little as 10,000 pesos. If an intermediary is involved, the price goes up.”

In the current case, although 9 million pesos had been verbally promised, the killers ultimately murdered for only 10,000 pesos. One factor enabling contract killings for such small sums is the easy access to firearms in the Philippines.

According to the Philippine National Police and other sources, as of 2014 there were roughly 1.7 million registered gun owners, and including unregistered illegal firearms, the number reaches about 3.9 million. Once registered with the police, even civilians may own and carry guns, and foreigners can also acquire them through local intermediaries without much difficulty. Shopping malls in Metro Manila have gun shops selling revolvers and automatics for tens of thousands of pesos. Armed security guards with rifles are stationed at bank entrances, and many homemade guns circulate widely. Unlike Japan, firearms exist very close to everyday life, creating an environment that breeds hitmen who kill for what feels like extra pocket money.

The trial for this case has only just begun. The brothers, who now plead not guilty, may reverse course and confess later — and will the day come when the mastermind is finally identified?