[Koga City, Ibaraki] Lip-Stitching Incident: Suspect’s “Abnormal Aggressiveness” and the “Mystery of the Gap” Before the Report Was Made

Her lips were sewn shut for 24 hours

On July 5, the Ibaraki Prefectural Police arrested Masae Sakurai (49) of Morokawa, Koga City, on suspicion of assault for sewing the lips of a woman she lived with shut with thread, causing serious injuries.

According to sources close to the investigation, Sakurai forced the victim’s lips forward and held them in place, then used a needle threaded with string to sew her upper and lower lips together. The two strands of thread seized at the scene were reportedly discolored by blood.

The incident came to light thanks to the victim’s desperate report to the police.

The woman took advantage of a moment’s opportunity to escape her home and fled to a nearby store. Unable to speak,

she showed the store clerk a scrap of paper that read, “I can’t speak. Please call the police,”

to the clerk, asking for help. After being rescued, the woman

“I was terrified of the suspect and couldn’t escape right away,”

.

It has been revealed that approximately 24 hours had passed since the time she was believed to have been sewn up before she found herself in this extreme situation, and during that time, she may have been completely deprived of conversation and food. The police are carefully investigating whether there was any other pattern of domestic violence.

It is believed that, in addition to Suspect Sakurai and his biological child, several runaways who had nowhere else to go were living together in the house where the incident took place. The owner of a local restaurant that the suspect used to frequent had heard about the abnormal circumstances of that communal living situation.

“He would deliberately send people living with him outside in the pouring rain and refuse to let them back in—it was like bullying. I also heard that they weren’t given proper side dishes and were forced to eat only very simple meals, like rice balls with salt.”

Why did such a twisted living arrangement come about? According to the restaurant owner, Sakurai had been luring women with nowhere to go to his home via the internet in recent years.

“It seems he was continuously collecting money from the women living with him—under the guise of rent and other expenses—using the welfare benefits they received. However, there are also reports that the suspect accumulated significant debt due to a series of vehicle problems experienced by the women, and he had been voicing his dissatisfaction to those around him,” said the shop owner.

On the other hand, regarding the suspect’s own financial situation, there is also a view that he received financial assistance and goods from men in his circle.

His assets ran out, leading to an immediate divorce

“They had secured several men who were devoted to the suspect through social media and other channels. It seems she used her supporters in different ways—for example, having them accompany her to buy daily necessities and clothing and then paying for them herself,” said the shop owner.

Another local restaurant owner who has known Suspect Sakurai for about 20 years spoke about changes in the suspect’s lifestyle over the past few years.

“Ever since I met him, he never seemed to settle at a specific address and moved frequently. He would visit my restaurant alone after work, still in his work clothes, and order the same noodle dishes or stir-fries. There are many food processing plants and manual labor jobs in this area, and I think the suspect drifted from one such job to another.His personal belongings were all ordinary items; he didn’t live a lifestyle where he would wear high-end brand-name goods. Based on his casual conversations and demeanor when serving customers, I never would have imagined he had the violent temperament capable of committing such a serious crime, so I’m shocked.”

According to the restaurant owner, Suspect Sakurai was previously married to a foreign man and is currently raising two sons, one in middle school and the other in high school.

An official at the construction company where Suspect Sakurai reportedly worked for a short period from mid-April to the end of June this year revealed rumors circulating among acquaintances regarding her past behavior.

“There were rumors that she had had a very strong desire for wealth since her youth and had been married and divorced four or five times.There were also stories that, although she had married a wealthy man in the past, she immediately divorced him once his assets ran out. As for the female victim she had been living with most recently, I heard there may have been trouble regarding the welfare benefits she was receiving.”

Suspect Sakurai is accused of luring in destitute runaways to exploit them financially, while at the same time displaying abnormal aggression, such as “sewing their lips shut.”The police are carefully examining the seized physical evidence while conducting a thorough investigation to uncover the full extent of the conflicts that arose during their cohabitation and the daily violence that took place.