A 42-year-old man arrested over the fatal stabbing of a young woman while she was live streaming on a Tokyo street said he wanted the world to know she had failed to repay debts to him, investigative sources said on Friday.
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The statement by the suspect, Kenichi Takano, came after he was arrested on Tuesday over the killing of 22-year-old Airi Sato in a residential area of Shinjuku, one of Tokyo’s busiest wards. He claimed she owed him over 2 million yen (US$13,000).
“I thought the world would know what she had done if I created an incident and a trial was held,” he was quoted as telling investigators, the sources said.
Takano said that he had taken out 1 million yen in loans from two consumer credit companies to lend Sato, the sources said. He was sent to prosecutors on Thursday on a charge of murder.
During a search of his home in Oyama, Tochigi prefecture, police seized more than 10 receipts for bank transfers, some of which were to Sato.
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Takano approached Sato while she was walking alone and started stabbing her without saying a word, the sources said. In all, he inflicted more than 30 injuries including fatal wounds to her neck and chest, according to the police.