True Crime Japan Podcast

Miyuki Ishikawa rose from a rural upbringing to attend one of Tokyo’s most prestigious universities. She went on to achieve career success, eventually reaching the position of Hospital Director for Kotobuki Maternity Hospital. However, in the turmoil of post-WWII Japan many families found themselves unable to financially support the arrival of a new child. Faced with limited resources within her hospital as well, Ishikawa decided the best solution was to neglect infants from families she considered too financially challenged to raise them. The newborns would eventually pass away from neglect. Together with her accomplices Ishikawa would dispose of the infants’ bodies and falsify death certificates to conceal the crime from authorities. She would later begin to charge poor families to ‘take care’ of their newborns, arguing that the it would be cheaper to pay the fee than face the financial burden of trying to raise them. The public outcry that followed the discovery of Ishikawa’s crimes ultimately lead to the legalization of abortion in Japan. Estimated to have been responsible for the murder of at least 103 infants, Ishikawa’s high death toll makes her the most prolific serial killer in Japanese history. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyuki_Ishikawa http://murderpedia.org/female.I/i/ishikawa-miyuki.htm http://unknownmisandry.blogspot.jp/2011/09/miyuki-ishikawa-japanese-childcare.html

It happened one night... In 1996 two high school students decided to embark on a test of courage (kimo dameishi) by exploring a nearby abandoned hotel at midnight. The Tsubono Spa was rumored to be a paranormal spot by teenagers and hangout for petty criminals by locals. Along their drive there were confirmed sightings of the pair, as well a series of pager messages (It was the 90s) updating friends and family on their progress and location. Upon nearing the area of the hotel the messages stopped, and the two have never been seen or heard from again. This case is part without-a-trace disappearance, part urban legend, and part internet rabbit hole. With few certainties and a tremendous amount of speculation, theories about the case have been widely debated in Japan but there has been little coverage abroad. We’ll be posting additional content and videos on our Facebook group. It’s private, but everyone is free to join. https://www.facebook.com/groups/599855356835724/ Email us. truecrimejapan@gmail.com Check out our website, hosted by Southern Dojo. http://www.southerndojo.com/truecrimejapan/ Sources: Kimo Dameishi https://hyakumonogatari.com/2012/02/01/kimodameshi-the-test-of-courage/ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1683&dat=19950529&id=BKMaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7CwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3683,4323075&hl=en Psychic Spot Disappearance(Sources for this case were only found in Japanese) http://fumibako.com/kowai/story/case/2.html http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2139598387700660101 http://toyamanoteiou.blog102.fc2.com/blog-entry-1430.html http://okakuro.org/tsubono-kousen/ http://mikaiketsu.9.tool.ms/1/ Bosozoku https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C5%8Ds%C5%8Dzoku http://www.vice.com/video/japans-aging-bosozoku-biker-gang-859 https://www.tofugu.com/japan/bosozoku/ http://dangerousminds.net/comments/japanese_rebel_biker_culture North Korean Abduction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_abductions_of_Japanese_citizens#Other_abductions_by_North_Korea http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2003/08/why_north_koreans_were_kidnappers.html http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/Taken_LQ.pdf

We’re back with a new episode of the True Crime Japan Podcast. Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood has become a mecca for Japan’s Otaku (geek) and Cosplay cultures. On any given weekend the streets are crowded with people streaming in and out of the area’s many manga shops, game centers, and electronics stores. In 2008, however, these same streets were the scene of terror as rampage killer, Tomohiro Katō, mowed down five people with a rented moving truck. This was only the beginning, in the chaos that followed Katō began to indiscriminately stab the people nearby, many of whom had come to help those injured by the truck. Katō was quickly apprehended at the scene, but the Japanese public was about to be shocked even more as details of his actions before the attack were revealed in the subsequent investigation. An avid user of internet messaging sites, Katō had described his intention to kill beforehand online. Live posting from his mobile phone, he revealed his plan for the bloody massacre piece-by-piece on his way to the scene of the crime. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara_massacre#The_incident http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/02/02/national/crime-legal/death-sentence-confirmed-akihabara-rampage-killer/ http://www.ibtimes.com/japan-denies-appeal-tomohiro-kato-who-was-sentenced-death-stabbing-7-2008-1802194 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2010/01/29/national/kato-sorry-for-akihabara-massacre/#.Vx3oxBgdzq0 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-12844673 http://www.japansubculture.com/akihabara-massacre-preventable-tragedy/ http://murderpedia.org/male.K/k/kato-tomohiro.htm

In the first episode of the True Crime Japan Podcast we cover the case of Masumi Hayashi and the Wakayama Poisoning Incident. On July 25, 1998 the residents of the Sonobe district of Wakayama Japan were celebrating their annual summer festival, but that year’s event would be tragically different. Locals quickly began exhibiting signs of acute poisoning. Ultimately, four people would be killed and 63 others would suffer from severe arsenic poisoning, traced back to a communal pot of curry (yes, Japanese curry) prepared in shifts by local volunteers. The crime would shock this sleepy village and the broader nation of Japan, and be seen as a betrayal of trust and community values that no one expected. Still the public was left even more confused when police named their suspect as Masumi Hayashi. How could this unassuming housewife and mother of four be responsible for one of the most heinous crimes in Japanese history? In this episode we dive deep into the case, and things are not what they initially seem. Sources: http://www.joc.com/homemaker-suspect-japans-insurance-murders_19981215.html http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/11/22/poison-4 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2011/08/26/food/curry-its-more-japanese-than-you-think/ http://japanesecurry.weebly.com/history--origin.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masumi_Hayashi_%28poisoner%29 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2006/11/16/news/courts-ignore-reasonable-doubt-lawyers/#.Vw6183DXerW http://www.joc.com/homemaker-suspect-japans-insurance-murders_19981215.html http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/11/22/poison-4 http://web-japan.org/trends98/honbun/ntj981102.html http://murderpedia.org/female.H/h/hayashi-masumi.htm https://books.google.co.jp/books?id=Jl2EuFEou6cC&pg=PA457&lpg=PA457&dq=wakayama+poisoned+curry+incident+women+criminal&source=bl&ots=ueI9onI6NP&sig=KzP3ztJ-MDsrSrX4FDHlMDu-SAo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiq9PXXj4rMAhWEX5QKHUXhCrkQ6AEIPTAG#v=onepage&q=wakayama%20poisoned%20curry%20incident%20women%20criminal&f=false https://web.archive.org/web/20090422161951/http://mdn.mainichi.jp:80/mdnnews/national/news/20090421p2a00m0na009000c.html http://www.japantimes.co.jp/2004/06/19/announcements/hayashi-breaks-silence-over-wakayama-curry-poisoning/#.VxCY8hgdzq0