Latest news with #Hamamatsu
Japan Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
War must never be repeated, says WWII guerilla commander
A 102-year-old Japanese man has voiced strong opposition to war, recounting his experience of undergoing training for guerrilla warfare at a secret school to prepare for a possible battle in mainland Japan toward the end of World War II. Satoshi Ito received infiltration, sabotage and other forms of training for three months at the Futamata branch of the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army's Nakano school. The branch was located in present-day Tenryu Ward in the city of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. "I was a pawn of the military (like many others)," Ito, who now lives in the city of Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, recalled. "We must never engage in a foolish war." In January 1943, Ito, who was a middle school teacher, passed the conscription exam. The following year, he entered the army's cavalry school in what is now the city of Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, to train future officers. Around July 1944, a supervising officer suddenly told Ito to go to a meeting room, where several interviewers in military uniform asked him whether he would be able to cut ties with his family. Ito was then asked to turn around. When he turned around to face the interviewers again, he was asked what he remembers seeing on a now-empty table between them. After trying hard to remember, Ito answered, "Cigarettes, an ashtray, a fountain pen and documents." The interviewers voiced their satisfaction at his answer. A befuddled Ito passed the 15-minute interview and was enrolled at the Futamata branch of the Nakano school on Sept. 1 the same year as one of the branch's inaugural students, which numbered some 230 people. The students were told by a military instructor that they would be sent to the battlefields to engage in guerrilla warfare after receiving training for secret operations. They were also told to keep the name of the Futamata branch an "absolute secret." It was strange that the instructor did not have a buzzcut despite being military personnel, Ito recalled. The school's teachings, he said, were "unique" and the "complete opposite" of what he had learned up until then. The school urged the students to survive and complete their missions and also told them that it was all right to be held captive as it was an opportunity to confuse the enemy by spreading false information. Until then, Ito had been taught not to be afraid to die and never to face the humiliation of being caught alive. The three months of training were intense, Ito said. In a bridge bombing exercise, he was asked by an instructor how long the structure was after he had crossed it, and how deep the river was, as well as how much gunpowder was necessary to blow it up, all part of training to hone observation and analytical skills. Ito was also trained to blow up planes after infiltrating airfields, as well as to collect information from women at bars. While Ito graduated from the Futamata branch school at the end of November 1944, the three months he spent there were not listed in his military records. After graduation, he was deployed to the command of the central district army in Osaka. He then became a second lieutenant and was sent to Taiwan in January 1945. In Taiwan, he was named company commander of a guerrilla unit made up of local residents. The war ended without the U.S. military landing in Taiwan. "I was relieved to be alive," Ito said. In March 1946, he took a week to return to Japan by ship from northern Taiwan. Upon his return, he went back to teaching. Decades after the war, the army's Nakano school came into the spotlight after soldier Hiroo Onoda, one of the Futamata branch's inaugural members, was found alive on the Philippine island of Lubang. Onoda held out on the island for about 30 years following the end of the war before he returned to Japan in 1974. Ito described Onoda as "serious," saying he opted not to go out even on Sundays and instead stayed at a ryokan inn to study. "I'm not surprised at Onoda hiding for 30 years because he did not receive an order (relieving him of his duty) from his commanding officer," Ito said. More than 80 years have passed since Ito received the secret training. "I was a cog in a machine or a pawn of the army. Japan engaged in a foolish war," he said. "War must not be repeated. This is a cry (of determination) from a 102-year-old."
Japan Times
08-07-2025
- Japan Times
Many wounds found on women killed in Hamamatsu girls bar, police say
Many stab wounds and scratches have been found on the bodies of two women who were killed at a girls bar in Shizuoka Prefecture on Sunday, it has been learned. The wounds were primarily located on their upper bodies, including their backs, investigative sources said. In the incident, Tomoka Takeuchi, the 27-year-old manager of the bar in the city of Hamamatsu, and Rin Ito, 26, an employee of the bar, died after being stabbed repeatedly. The crime took place around 1 a.m. Sunday. The suspect, Ichiro Yamashita, a 41-year-old unemployed man, was arrested on the scene the same day for attempted murder. The Shizuoka Prefectural Police Department sent Yamashita to public prosecutors on Monday, revising his charges to murder. The police are investigating details including Yamashita's motives, believing that the suspect had a strong intent to kill the victims. According to the sources, Yamashita drove Ito to the bar in his car. He entered the bar with Ito, holding what appeared to be a knife with a 20-centimeter curved blade in each hand. Soon after that, Yamashita assaulted Takeuchi. The suspect then chased Ito, who fled the bar, and attacked her from behind in a hallway of the building where the bar is located, the sources said. Yamashita was arrested on a nearby street by police officers who rushed to the scene. Other employees and several customers were in the bar at the time of the incident. None of them were injured. Yamashita admitted to the allegations against him, telling the police that it was true that he had stabbed the two women, according to the sources.
Japan Times
07-07-2025
- Japan Times
Customer allegedly stabs girls bar manager and employee to death in Shizuoka
A customer allegedly stabbed to death two women working at a girls bar, where female staff serve drinks, in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, in the early hours of Sunday. The two — the bar manager, Tomoka Takeuchi, 27, and an employee, Rin Ito, 26 — were later confirmed dead at a hospital. The cause of death is believed to be hemorrhagic shock. The Shizuoka Prefectural Police arrested the attacker, Ichiro Yamashita, 41, an unemployed resident of the city of Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture, on the spot on suspicion of attempted murder. He has admitted to the charges. The police plan to upgrade the charges to murder as they investigate further details. According to the police, Yamashita had visited the bar several times before the incident. On the day of the attack, he entered the bar with Ito, holding a knife in each hand. He immediately stabbed Takeuchi and Ito multiple times in the back and other parts of their bodies. There were five or six other people in the store at the time, but none of them were injured.
NHK
07-07-2025
- NHK
Hamamatsu 'girls bar' stabbing suspect drove victim to crime scene
Police say the man arrested after stabbing two women to death at a bar in central Japan had driven one of the victims to the crime scene. Police arrested 41-year-old Yamashita Ichiro early on Sunday in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, at an establishment known in Japan as a "girls bar." They say Yamashita entered the bar carrying two knives known as "kukri," with curved blades. They say he first stabbed the 27-year-old manager, Takeuchi Tomoka, multiple times in the back and then stabbed one of the employees, 26-year-old Ito Rin, outside the bar. Both women were later confirmed dead. Police have since learned that Yamashita drove Ito to the bar, even though she was not scheduled to work that day. They say he may have threatened Ito to accompany him to the bar. Police say Yamashita was a regular at the establishment.
NHK
06-07-2025
- NHK
Man stabs two women to death, at 'girls bar' in Hamamatsu
A man has stabbed two women to death at the bar where they worked in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. Police arrested 41-year-old Yamashita Ichiro at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder. He stabbed the two women at around 1 a.m. on Sunday and they were later confirmed dead. The establishment is what is known in Japan as a "girls bar," offering drinks and female companionship. Police say the suspect entered with one of the employees, 26-year-old Ito Rin. The suspect first stabbed the manager, 27-year-old Takeuchi Tomoka, in the back multiple times. He then stabbed Ito. The suspect entered the bar carrying two knives known as "kukri," with curved blades around 20 centimeters long. Police say the suspect is a resident of the city of Fukuroi, also in Shizuoka, and has admitted stabbing the women. Police also say Yamashita was a regular at the bar, and there were other employees and customers there at the time of the incident. Police are holding the man on suspicion of murder and are investigating the details.
