“I Want Someone Killed”: The Shocking Request That Put an IT CEO Behind Bars

Finally arrested on suspicion of murder

At 9 a.m. on June 19, a police transport vehicle emerged from the Azabu Police Station of the Metropolitan Police Department. The face of a man could be seen behind the metal mesh installed between the driver’s seat and the rear seat. When he was sent to prosecutors two months earlier on suspicion of abandoning a corpse, he had tried to hide himself in the shadow of the passenger seat, but on this day, he faced forward and quietly closed his eyes──.

On June 17, the Metropolitan Police Department rearrested Katsuya Mizuguchi (49), the representative of IT-related company “Linux Japan,” on suspicion of murdering Takeshi Kamiyama (54 at the time), an executive of the same company. Mizuguchi was arrested in April on suspicion of abandoning Kamiyama’s body and was indicted on May 8.

“In October last year, a woman acquainted with Kamiyama consulted the police, saying, ‘I cannot get in contact with Mr. Kamiyama.’ Police searched inside the company office, but there was nothing particularly unusual, and they determined there was no indication of a crime. However, in February this year, the woman again reported that she could not reach him, and when police reinvestigated, Kamiyama’s bloodstains were found inside the company.

Furthermore, it was discovered that around the time Kamiyama was believed to have disappeared, Mizuguchi had engaged in suspicious behavior, such as purchasing blue tarps multiple times and renting a car. He was then arrested on suspicion of abandoning a corpse. However, at that point, Kamiyama’s body had still not been found, making it an abandonment of a corpse case without a body.” (National newspaper crime reporter)

It was on May 29 that part of the body was discovered in a wooded area beside a road in Izu City, Shizuoka Prefecture. The torso was inside a black Boston bag that had become caught on a tree, and DNA testing confirmed that the remains belonged to Kamiyama.

〈How about dismembering the body with a chainsaw?〉

“On the same day that Mizuguchi was rearrested, Hayato Suzuki (29), an unemployed man from Sapporo, Hokkaido, was arrested on suspicion of assisting in the destruction and abandonment of a corpse. The two met on social media in June last year and began communicating through a highly confidential app. It is said that Mizuguchi approached Suzuki, who called himself a ‘jack-of-all-trades,’ saying, ‘I want you to kill someone.’

Suzuki gave a positive response, but he had no intention of committing murder and appears to have repeatedly found excuses to get Mizuguchi to send him money. Suzuki had reportedly previously taken money from clients without carrying out the jobs they requested, and is said to have told investigators, ‘I thought he would be an easy target this time as well.’

Having grown impatient, Mizuguchi murdered Kamiyama himself. He allegedly sent Suzuki ‘evidence photos’ showing what appeared to be a body covered with a plastic sheet, along with a message saying, ‘I killed him myself.’

However, instead of apologizing, Suzuki reportedly responded, ‘This isn’t what we agreed on,’ and demanded breach-of-contract fees and other payments. It appears he forced Mizuguchi to transfer more than 5.3 million yen in total, including the money he had already received. After that, when Mizuguchi consulted him, saying, ‘The body is too heavy to move,’ Suzuki gave advice such as, ‘How about cutting it up with a chainsaw?’ and ‘How about transporting it in a rental car?’” (same source)

This time, it is believed that the exchanges with Suzuki became the key to Mizuguchi’s rearrest.

“Mizuguchi appears to have sent messages to Suzuki saying things such as, ‘If I don’t kill him by September 28, 2025, the company will be taken over,’ and ‘The bank PIN will be changed.’ Police are proceeding with the investigation on the assumption that Mizuguchi murdered Kamiyama after the two had a conflict over the management of the company.” (same source)

Two months after being arrested for abandoning a corpse without a body, Mizuguchi was finally arrested on suspicion of murder. Crime journalist Taihei Ogawa spoke about the future course of the investigation.

“Only part of the victim’s remains have been found. The first priority is investigating the location where the body was abandoned. Next will be the investigation into Suzuki. How did the two come to know each other? Since he accepted a murder request and only took the money, it is almost like fraud. Suzuki will likely have other offenses come to light, and there is also the question of whether he came up with these schemes himself.

Then there is Mizuguchi’s motive for the murder. Since he wanted the person killed badly enough to ask someone else to do it, there must have been a considerable reason. It has previously been reported that there appeared to have been disputes over executive compensation and the company’s management policies, but if that was the case, there were other ways he could have dealt with the situation.

Since he went as far as dismembering the body to prevent it from being found, it is believed that he had a very strong intent to kill. What was the actual motive? Would someone really go this far for the reasons that have been reported? That is something that needs to be investigated as well.”

Mizuguchi is reportedly remaining silent regarding the murder allegations. However, it is likely that the full details of the crime will be revealed before long.

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