Latest news with #Anti-StalkingAct
The Mainichi
12-05-2025
- The Mainichi
Editorial: Police must answer for inert response before stalking victim's murder in Japan
Why were authorities unable to protect the life of a woman who repeatedly complained of being stalked? The police must identify problems in their handling of the case. The body of the 20-year-old woman was found at the home of a 27-year-old man in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, who she had been dating. The man has been arrested on suspicion of abandoning her corpse. Since last June, the woman and her family had repeatedly contacted police with claims the man had physically assaulted and followed her. The police have said they took all the necessary steps, but we can't help but doubt that claim. The man was verbally warned, but police did not issue a restraining order or an official warning under the anti-stalking law. They explained that the victim had not wished for these steps and noted that she and the man had sometimes rekindled their relationship. However, victims' words and behavior can waver due to threats or their emotions. The situation required a fine-tuned response, taking the woman's emotional state into consideration. Of particular concern is how police were unable to ensure the woman's safety despite receiving nine consultations by phone over a period of 12 days immediately before she went missing last December. It was reported that the man had been lurking near her home, but she was simply told not to go outside. Also problematic is the fact that it took over four months for police to search the man's home. Right after the woman went missing, it was confirmed through reports from her family that a window of a house she had evacuated to was broken. Even though the suspect admitted to going to see the victim on the day she went missing, police did not immediately proceed with a forced search of his home. Clearly, Kanagawa Prefectural Police did not respond sufficiently. They may have lacked awareness of the gravity of the stalking, and they bear a heavy responsibility for failing to protect the victim. The Anti-Stalking Act was created in the wake of the murder of a woman who had been stalked in the city of Okegawa, Saitama Prefecture, in 1999. However, there has been no shortage of cases in which police were aware of the damage, yet the situation turned disastrous. Thirteen years ago in Kanagawa Prefecture, a woman was murdered by a former partner in the city of Zushi. Aside from breaching a person's human rights, stalking also can be life-threatening. This awareness should be thoroughly instilled within police forces across Japan, and their approach should be reviewed.
Japan Forward
09-05-2025
- Japan Forward
Don't Let Stalkers Claim Even One More Victim
このページを 日本語 で読む The 20-year-old woman repeatedly reported to the police that her life was in imminent danger. Could she not have been saved in time? How can we prevent stalkers from committing such a tragedy again? This horrifying incident, which ended in a tragic outcome, must be thoroughly investigated. Asahi Okazaki, a resident of Kawasaki City in Kanagawa Prefecture, went missing on December 20, 2024. However, it took more than four months for her body to be found buried under floorboards at the home of her ex-boyfriend, Hideyuki Shirai. He has since been indicted on suspicion of abandoning a body. Ms Okazaki had reached out to the Kanagawa Prefectural Police on multiple occasions to report the suspect's violence towards her. She described to them his repeated stalking of her. And shortly before her disappearance, she complained she was scared because the suspect was lurking near her home. The worst outcome might have been avoided if strong measures had been taken under the Anti-Stalking Act. However, the police did not recognize that Okazaki was the victim of a stalker before events reached that point. The reason, they said, was that the "victim did not want them to do so." Eventually, her body was discovered during a search related to the suspected violation of the law. According to the police, that was because the "suspect's testimony made it possible to establish evidence constituting a crime" after Okazaki went missing. Considering the enormous consequences, these excuses appear feeble at best. The Anti-Stalking Act became law in 2000. It was introduced by a Diet member in response to the "Okegawa Stalker Murder Case" of 1999. The law creates an exception to the principle that criminal investigations should not impinge on civil matters by allowing police to intervene before a situation becomes serious. Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters In other words, this law is intended to ensure that victims stay alive. Therefore, waiting to determine whether a crime has been committed after the fact does not align with the intent of the law. Even after the Anti-Stalker Act took effect, it has been revised repeatedly in response to major incident after major incident. In 2016, the offense was changed from a crime requiring a complaint to a crime not requiring a complaint. Subsequently, in 2021, the definition of stalking was expanded to include keeping a watch on the location where the victim was physically located. However, without proper implementation, these legal reforms cannot be effective. The Kanagawa Prefecture Police have said, "Our investigation will clarify everything about the incident and identify areas for improvement." The results of that investigation should be released in detail to the public so that the public can understand the lessons learned and where the police failed. In cases of stalking involving couples with romantic feelings, the emotions of the individuals involved can fluctuate widely. Also, privacy issues are involved, which makes timely intervention more complicated. Even so, we hope that the police will respond more diligently. This view is also shared by the father whose eldest daughter died in the 1999 Okegawa incident. In response to Asahi Okazaki's death in the Kawasaki incident, he said: "I want members of the police station where the victim sought help to think again about whether the way they respond recalls their mission to protect the lives of citizens." Those are words that the police should take as their starting point. Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun このページを 日本語 で読む
Tokyo Weekender
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tokyo Weekender
Ukrainian Model Claims She Found a Man Hiding Under Her Bed in Tokyo Hotel
A Ukrainian model based in Thailand recently claimed that she saw a pair of eyes staring at her from under her bed in a hotel she was staying at in Tokyo. Posting a video on Instagram , Natalisi Taksisi said she returned to the room after a day of sightseeing and noticed a 'weird smell.' Initially, she thought it was her hair or the bedsheets. However, she then realized it was coming from below. Leaning down, she saw a man looking up. at her. According to Taksisi, he climbed out and stared at her for three seconds. She screamed, and he followed suit before escaping. List of Contents: No Cameras in the Hotel Natalisi Taksisi Refunded, But Compensation Request Rejected Related Posts No Cameras in the Hotel The model was staying at APA Hotel & Resort Ryogoku Eki Tower. She felt safe there because APA is a well-known hotel chain and both the floor and room can only be accessed with a key card. Taksisi said she asked staff how it happened yet wasn't given an answer. It was her second night in the room. On her Instagram page, Taksisi posted footage of the police in her room. She was informed that the building didn't have cameras, so the man was unlikely to be caught. A USB cable and power bank were found under her bed. Fearing for her safety, the traveler moved to another hotel. Natalisi Taksisi Refunded, But Compensation Request Rejected She reached out to the booking company, Agoda, and was allegedly offered $178 in coupons. Unsatisfied, she contacted the hotel directly and was eventually refunded the $600 (around ¥80,000) she paid for three nights. Her request for $1,600 (about ¥230,000) in compensation, though, was rejected. Thousands of people commented on Taksisi's video on Instagram and TikTok, with some questioning whether she was telling the truth. She responded with a message on Thursday, stating that she didn't share her story for fame, but because it happened. 'I love Japan,' she added. 'This story is not against the country. But I will always stand by the truth — even when it hurts. To those who support me: thank you. To those who don't believe me: I understand. I only ask you to imagine how it felt to be in my place.' Related Posts Japan's Anti-Stalking Act Under the Microscope Following Murder in Fukuoka Shinjuku Murder Raises More Questions About Japan's Anti-Stalking Law Nursery Schoolteachers Arrested After Repeated Abuse Claims
The Mainichi
02-05-2025
- The Mainichi
'I might get killed': Japan police probe link between body found at man's home, his ex
KAWASAKI -- A bag containing a body of unknown gender and age has been found inside a house in this city's Kawasaki Ward, sparking an investigation into the abandonment of a corpse, Kanagawa Prefectural Police announced May 1. According to sources close to the investigation, the body was discovered during a search of the home of a man in his 20s suspected of stalking. A 20-year-old woman who previously dated him and later complained of being stalked has been missing, and the prefectural police are investigating the link between the corpse and the missing woman. According to investigative sources, officers from Kawasaki Rinko Police Station found what appeared to be a body inside a traveling bag during a search of the man's home on suspicion of violating the Anti-Stalking Act on the evening of April 30, and confirmed it to be a human corpse at the police station the following day. The police will conduct an autopsy May 2 to identify the body, which is partially skeletonized, as well as the cause of death. According to the family of the missing woman, Asahi Okazaki, she had been complaining of being stalked by her ex-boyfriend, who lives in the home that was recently searched by police. Okazaki went missing from her home on the morning of Dec. 20, 2024. A window at her home had been broken and unlocked. Upon noticing her absence, her family reported to the prefectural police on Dec. 22. Her family told the Mainichi Shimbun, "At the time, the police told us that they were not sure if her disappearance was related to a crime." The family said Okazaki herself "had reported to police over and over again after the stalking had escalated since November 2024." According to her 50-year-old father, Okazaki texted her mother via social media the day before she went missing, saying, "I might get killed." The father fumed, telling the Mainichi, "The police did nothing for us," while adding that the corpse "has not been identified as hers." Her teenage brother also told the Mainichi, "I hope the body is not my sister's." A 19-year-old friend of the missing woman said she talked about trouble with her ex. "She told me that when they had an argument (at the man's home) and she told him that she was going home, she had her clothes stripped off and she couldn't leave." The friend recalled that when she visited Okazaki's home around last summer, the man abruptly showed up and banged on the door from the outside. Speaking of Okazaki, the 19-year-old said, "She was a friendly and cheerful person. I can't accept (what has happened)." After Okazaki went missing, her family asked for information from the public on social media. On May 1, her family and others concerned visited the police station and asked for briefings from officers. Regarding the authorities' response to Okazaki, an investigative source told the Mainichi, "The police station was responding each time, and at this point there has been no apparent lack of action, but I assume the prefectural police will closely examine the matter." Meanwhile, a source close to the investigation has revealed to the Mainichi Shimbun that the man who lives in the house where the human corpse was found has been missing for about a month and possibly left the country. The police are looking into the man's whereabouts.
