[Nasu: Murder and Body Dumping of the Takarajima Couple] “I Was Threatened by My Son-in-Law…” The Man Who Gave the Orders Reveals the Sloppy “Plan” in Court
The Truth as Told by the Mastermind
In the case where the charred remains of a couple who ran a restaurant in Ueno, Tokyo, were found in Nasu Town, Tochigi Prefecture, in April 2024, the lay judge trial for defendants Hikaru Sasaki (30) and Ayaken Hirayama (27), who are charged with murder,abandonment and mutilation of a corpse, was held on June 24 at the Tokyo District Court.
“The victims, Ryutaro Takarajima (55 at the time) and his wife Sachiko (56), operated 14 restaurants in Ueno’s Ameyoko district, and the street lined with their chain stores was known as ‘Takarajima Road.’However, the Takarajima couple’s eldest daughter, defendant Manami Takarajima (33), and her common-law husband, defendant Seihata Sekine (34), who had grown increasingly dissatisfied with the business operations, plotted to kill the couple.
Defendants Sasaki and Hirayama were responsible for recruiting the perpetrators and issuing instructions. Defendants Akihito Wakayama (22) and Kōki Kang (22), acting on their instructions, carried out the murders. They are also charged with the crime of desecrating a corpse by transporting and burning the bodies.A total of seven people have been arrested, including Ryo Maeda (38), who prepared the vacant house that served as the crime scene. “In addition to the brutality of the crime, the case received sensational media coverage because defendant Akihito Wakayama was a former actor who had appeared in a popular TV drama,” said a reporter from the crime desk of a national newspaper.
According to the indictment and other documents, on the night of April 15, ’24,Defendants Sekine and Maeda, pretending to show the couple a property, lured Mr. and Mrs. Takarajima to the garage of a vacant house in Gotanda, Tokyo. There, Defendants Wakayama and Kang, who were waiting, killed the couple by strangling them with an electrical cord, among other methods, and then transported their bodies by car to Nasu Town, where they burned them.
At the first hearing on June 22, defendant Sasaki admitted to the charges, but defendant Hirayama argued that “while it is true I was involved in the incident, I acted on instructions,” claiming he was merely an accessory and partially denying the charges.
At the subsequent hearing held on the 24th, the defendants were cross-examined; defendant Sasaki expressed regret over having met defendant Sekine, his words tinged with anger.
Upon entering the courtroom, Sasaki wore a two-tone black-and-gray tracksuit. Although he had had blonde hair and a menacing appearance at the time of his arrest, he looked frail as he walked with his shoulders hunched.In contrast, Defendant Hirayama wore a black suit with a navy blue tie; though his stocky build exuded an air of intimidation, he maintained good posture throughout the trial, and his deep bows upon entering and exiting the courtroom left a strong impression.
Upon taking his seat at the witness stand, Defendant Sasaki began recounting the truth of the incident in response to questions from his defense attorney. The following is a summary of the exchange between the defense attorney and Defendant Sasaki.
Threatened that “his family would suffer the same fate,”
Defendant Sasaki moved to Tokyo from his hometown of Fukuoka in February ’24. He had been running a restaurant with a friend in Iizuka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, but his friend got into trouble with the yakuza, forcing them to close the restaurant after only six months.Afterward, he worked as a street promoter in Nakasu, a bustling entertainment district in Fukuoka City, but moved to Tokyo at the invitation of an acquaintance. He began working as a street promoter in Ueno. It was then that he was introduced to Defendant Sekine by his acquaintance, who described him as “the man who runs the Ueno area.”
Defendant Sekine was covered in tattoos and had an intimidating appearance, which overwhelmed Defendant Sasaki. He intuitively sensed that “this person was higher up than me, ” and a master-servant relationship was immediately established.Every time they met on the streets of Ueno, he would be shoved or teased . “I didn’t like it, but I thought if I defied him, I wouldn’t be able to work in Ueno anymore, ” so he had no choice but to put on a forced smile.
In April of that same year, Defendant Sasaki was approached by Defendant Sekine, who offered him a fee of 5 to 6 million yen and asked, “Do you know anyone who can dispose of a body?” He thought about refusing, but—
“(Defendant Sekine) brought up my family. He told me that if I turned down the request, he’d ‘make sure the same thing happens to them.’”
Fearing harm would come to his family, Sasaki could not refuse and approached Hirayama with the proposal. He had met Hirayama in February 1924, shortly after moving to Tokyo, at a club in Shibuya, where an acquaintance had introduced him, saying, “Hirayama is a yakuza member affiliated with the Sumiyoshi-kai.” Although Defendant Hirayama was younger, Defendant Sasaki, convinced that he was a yakuza member, addressed him using honorifics. Defendant Hirayama reportedly spoke to him informally, but when Defendant Sasaki made the request, he replied in honorifics, saying , “I’ll look into it.” The task was then assigned to Defendants Wakayama and Kang, who were Defendant Hirayama’s club friends.
When Defendant Sasaki reported, “We’ve found the hitmen,” Defendant Sekine raised the reward to 15 million yen and revised the request, saying, “I want you to handle the killing itself.”
Upon hearing about the change in conditions from Defendant Sasaki, Defendant Hirayama reportedly replied , “That’s a big one. I’ll do it.” By this time, Defendant Hirayama had begun speaking to Defendant Sasaki using honorifics.
Defendant Sasaki had believed his role was over once he had recruited the hitman, but Defendant Sekine told him , “Get in touch with Hirayama. Don’t mention my name, ” and entrusted him with the role of coordinator. At this time as well, Defendant Sekine mentioned the names of Defendant Sasaki’s family members and threatened him, saying, “I’ll make them suffer the same fate [if you don’t obey].”
“I don’t know how he knew my family’s names.”
Defendant Sasaki said he felt a bottomless terror.
A Sloppy Plan
On the other hand, the plan for the crime was extremely sloppy. The initial plan was to attack Mr. and Mrs. Takarajima on a street in Ueno.Defendant Sekine’s plans —such as “I want you to run them over with a car on the street” and “I want you to drag them off their bicycles and strangle them while they’re riding down Takarajima Road” —were all likely to attract attention, and Defendant Sasaki recalled with exasperation, “I thought it was sloppy.”
Defendant Hirayama suggested, “Can’t we find a secluded place?” and Defendant Maeda secured a vacant house in Gotanda (Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo). The plan was then changed so that Defendants Sekine and Maeda would lure Mr. and Mrs. Takarajima into the garage.
Since using a rental car to transport the body would leave a trail, Defendant Sekine instructed them to use a stolen car; however, they were unable to secure one, so they ended up using Defendant Hirayama’s car.Since they could not find a place to dispose of the body, Defendant Sekine designated a plot of land in Nasu Town, Tochigi Prefecture, as the disposal site, stating, “It’s our land.”
“A detective from the Tochigi Prefectural Police who testified as a prosecution witness at the June 23 hearing stated, ‘I thought [the perpetrators] were unfamiliar with the area in Tochigi.It’s a place where locals would easily spot them.” The license plate of Defendant Hirayama’s car was clearly captured on security camera footage, and it immediately came to light as a suspicious vehicle,” said a judicial reporter for a national newspaper.
The body was discovered on April 16, ’24, and the story was reported on the evening news. Defendant Sekine called Defendant Sasaki and said,
“You haven’t disposed of the body yet! Make the person who actually did it turn himself in!”
he reportedly ranted.
Defendant Hirayama replied, “Understood,” but Defendants Wakayama and Kang had already fled. Defendant Sekine told Defendant Sasaki, “Make Hirayama turn himself in,” and
to which Defendant Hirayama reportedly replied, “Since the body was found due to the responsibility of my juniors, I will turn myself in.”
Defendant Hirayama reportedly replied.
Early the next morning, on April 17, Defendant Hirayama and Defendant Sasaki met up. Defendant Sasaki saw Defendant Hirayama turn himself in.Afterward, upon receiving an order from Defendant Sekine to “get out of Tokyo, ” he fled via his hometown of Fukuoka to Okinawa. He was ultimately arrested in Okinawa. Defendant Sasaki had received 1 million yen from Defendant Sekine for expenses such as car cleaning and upgrading his cell phone model, but during the trial, he stated,
“I received it to cover expenses such as cleaning the murder scene. It was not a reward,”
. Regarding his relationship with Defendant Hirayama, he reiterated, “I considered him my superior,” and argued that he had not been in a leading role.
“I should have refused [Defendant Sekine’s request] or run away. I feel regret and remorse for taking the precious lives of those two people,”
she said, shedding tears. Since her arrest, she has been copying the Heart Sutra every day and has reportedly filled more than 10 notebooks. Regarding Defendant Sekine,
“I feel frustrated that he dragged me into this incident,”
she said, her eyes flashing with anger. Regarding Sekine’s consistent denial of the crime, she stated in a strong tone:
“I feel anger.”
Currently, Defendant Sekine is being held at the Tokyo Detention Center, and on the same day, proceedings to clarify the grounds for his detention were held at the Tokyo District Court. Appearing in court, Defendant Sekine stated,
“I did not conspire with anyone, and I am absolutely innocent,”
.
All eyes are now on what testimony Defendant Hirayama—who listened to Defendant Sasaki’s testimony with his lips pressed tightly together—will give at the next hearing.
For those who wish to know more details about the cross-examination of defendant Ayaken Hirayama, please refer to the report published in Friday Digital on June 25, ’26.
PHOTO： Shinji Hasuo (Photos 2–5)