TOKYO — The young woman who was killed while live streaming on a street in downtown Tokyo was stabbed more than 30 times, police said on Wednesday, suggesting the alleged assailant held a strong grudge against her.
Police said the 42-year-old suspect, Kenichi Takano, told them that he used up his savings and took out loans to lend millions of yen to the woman. They are believed to have been embroiled in a financial dispute.
On Tuesday morning, Airi Sato, 22, was suddenly assaulted by Takano while walking alone in a residential area of Shinjuku, one of Tokyo's busiest wards, police said. She sustained wounds to her neck and chest.
Takano said he bought the survival knife used in the incident by mail order two to three months ago and he brought it from his home in Oyama, Tochigi prefecture, to the Takadanobaba district, the police said.
He was quoted by the police as saying that he tracked down her location by watching her stream before the incident on Tuesday. He told police that he "could not accept" that she was "making money from streaming while owing me money."
According to police, Takano first learned of Sato through her streams in February 2021. Around August 2022, he began frequenting an eatery where she worked and later started lending her money as she claimed she was struggling to pay living expenses.
Takano sued Sato in 2023 over unreturned funds, with case records showing that he argued he had lent her a total of some ¥2.54 million (US$17,000) over 10 occasions from September to November 2022. The ruling ordered her to pay ¥2.5 million to Takano.
In January 2024, however, he consulted police in Tochigi prefecture, saying Sato had gone missing following the ruling, a source close to him said.