In-Depth Reporting [Special Year-End Program] The Roppongi Club Attack – Pursuing the Still-Deep Dark Side

File.③ Roppongi club attack
September 2, ’12, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Former member’s confession in prison: “Mitate is still in the Philippines
Interview and text by Takehide Mizutani

In a letter sent to me in early spring of this year, he wrote, “Shibata is also a fugitive from justice.

It seems that Shibata was also interested in the search for the fugitive. Even if the fugitive criminal were arrested, it did not seem to me that there would be any benefit to him.

The sender is Taichi Ishimoto, 43, former leader of the semi-gangster group Kanto Rengo.’ The September 2012 “Roppongi club attack” involved a man mistaken for a rival gang leader who was beaten to death inside the “Flower” club by several members of the Kanto Rengo. Ishimoto was arrested as one of the accomplices and is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence. Shibata” refers to former executive Daisuke Shibata (died in 2009), and “fugitive” refers to Shinichi Mitachi, 46, who is believed to be the main suspect in the case.

Since early November, approximately two months after the incident occurred, Mitachi fled to Manila, the capital of the Philippines, and there is no record of his ever leaving the country. A senior official of the Philippine Immigration Bureau, which is continuing the investigation there, said that they received information about Mitachi’s hiding place about two years ago, but that it ended in vain.

The hiding place was a condominium near the entertainment district in Manila, where many tourists visit. Investigators were sent to search for him, but his whereabouts could not be confirmed. Since then, there has been no promising information.

Since last fall, the theory that Mitachi was hiding in Cambodia was reported in some media. As evidence to support this theory, a group photo of former Kanto-Rengo members in Cambodia with a person believed to be Mitachi became the topic of conversation.

Where is Mitate hiding? The letter at the beginning of this article provides a clue. Ishimoto, who was Mitate’s junior, predicted the hiding place as follows.

As far as I know, he has not moved from the Philippines.

The letter also mentioned the much-discussed group photo.

The alumni in the photo urged him to turn himself in for me, and when he refused, we ended up fighting as it was. So it is highly unlikely that those people are supporting [Mitachi].

A Philippine immigration official also stated, “Mitachi is in Cambodia.

We have heard about Mitachi’s hiding out in Cambodia, but we have not been able to confirm it. We believe he is still in the Philippines. There are rumors that he has undergone plastic surgery and that he is dead, but we don’t know if they are true or not.

The Metropolitan Police Department updated its investigation information on the case on November 1. It mentions the possibility that Mitate has returned to his home country and has translations in Tagalog and English, but not in Khmer, Cambodia’s official language. Is this a sign that they believe he is not in Cambodia? The investigations by the authorities of various countries are at a standstill. (Some titles in the text are omitted.)

From the December 19 and 26, 2025 issue of FRIDAY