Newly arrested woman panicked at news cameras and reveals her role in the Sakai body abandonment case

Buried nearly naked, two meters underground

In the case where a man’s body was discovered in a vacant lot in Sakai Town, Ibaraki Prefecture in October, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Organized Crime Division announced on November 14 that they had rearrested Shogo Umeda (33), of no fixed address or occupation, and Seiya Kumazaki (27), of Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, on suspicion of unlawful confinement.
They also announced the arrest of a new suspect, Ayuka Tadano (24) of Shinjuku, Tokyo, on the same charge. Umeda and Kumazaki were already indicted for abandoning a corpse.

Around 9 p.m. on November 12, Tadano was transferred to the Shibuya Police Station in a police vehicle. She wore a bright neon-yellow hoodie and had blonde hair. The moment she noticed the media cameras, she panicked—covering her face with both hands, looking downward or to the side, visibly agitated.

According to investigators, the three suspects — Umeda, Kumazaki, and Tadano — are suspected of restraining Jun Matsunaga (48), of Nerima Ward, Tokyo, whose body was later found in the vacant lot. They allegedly tied his arms with vinyl cords inside a van traveling around Tokyo in June this year. Tadano is believed to have lured Matsunaga — whom she knew personally — under orders from Umeda and the others.

A national newspaper social-affairs reporter explained:

“The case traces back to earlier this summer, when two senior members of a Yamaguchi-gumi affiliate were arrested and indicted for kidnapping and confining another man over a financial dispute.

As police examined smartphone communications involving Umeda, Kumazaki, and two others arrested in that separate case, they discovered that they also had troubles with Matsunaga. They kidnapped him on June 11 and later buried his body.”

Police launched a large-scale search with a 50-person team using heavy machinery after identifying the burial site. On October 14, they found Matsunaga’s body buried about two meters underground, almost completely naked. A forensic autopsy could not determine the cause of death. Six suspects were arrested on October 24 on suspicion of abandoning a corpse.

Was the motive a woman?

When the six suspects were arrested in October, the nature of the trouble involving Matsunaga was still unclear. However, it now appears that Umeda may have planned the assault due to resentment over a woman he knew and her relationship with Matsunaga.

“Umeda is believed to have held a grudge over the relationship between this acquaintance and Matsunaga. Before the incident, he reportedly told the woman over the phone, ‘Watch what happens to the man you got involved with.’

Matsunaga is thought to have died after being assaulted following his confinement. The Metropolitan Police are now investigating the circumstances of his death.” (From the same national newspaper reporter)

Former Kanagawa Prefectural Police detective and crime journalist Yasuhei Ogawa commented on how the investigation is likely to proceed:

“The fact that they have not yet made additional arrests for murder likely means that no one has talked about the killing. Six people were arrested for abandoning a corpse, but normally it would be an arrest for both murder and abandoning a corpse. So it may still be unclear who actually killed Matsunaga.

The police want more time to investigate thoroughly. That’s why they first arrested them for abandoning a corpse, and this time for confinement. It’s essentially a signal that they will arrest them as many times as necessary until they can charge them with murder.”

It seems the day the actual killer behind Matsunaga’s death is caught may not be far off.

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