Latest news with #Okazaki
Hospitality Net
5 days ago
- Business
- Hospitality Net
IHG and GI Capital Management break ground on Regent Kyoto
IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG) and GI Capital Management held a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the construction start for the much-anticipated Regent Kyoto. Set to open in 2028, Regent Kyoto will represent the epitome of modern upper luxury blending timeless heritage and awe-inspiring design. This property, set around a central garden originally landscaped over a century ago by famed landscape gardener Kumakichi Kato, has been lovingly reimagined for a new era in homage to Kato's enduring legacy, and will offer travellers unparalleled levels of luxury, world class facilities and 83 elegant rooms. Located in one of the city's most affluent areas Okazaki which is known for its collection of renowned villas, the hotel site is home to Tsuruya, recognised amongst Kyoto's top dining destinations. The 'ryotei' restaurant has a century long history with the premises originally developed and later used as accommodation and a dining venue for esteemed guests including the Japanese nobles and imperial family and state guests visiting the city. The Kyoto Imperial Palace, Heian Shrine and Nanzen-ji Temple are a short walk away. The guest rooms will feature a modern interpretation of the tradition 'engawa' zone, by the window, where guests can indulge and connect with the surrounding gardens and the natural environment beyond, creating a seamless experience of architecture and landscape. This integration of architectural heritage and modern design will reflect Regent's philosophy of serenity, subtle grandeur and elegance. Regent Hotels & Resorts joined IHG Hotels & Resorts in 2018, reimagining a new era for the legendary luxury brand. Regent Kyoto will join Regent Santa Monica Beach, Regent Hong Kong, Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel, Regent Shanghai on the Bund, Regent Phu Quoc and Regent Bali Canggu in exemplifying this new chapter for luxury hospitality. Hotel website
Tokyo Reported
11-05-2025
- Tokyo Reported
Kanagawa cops: Kawasaki man attempted suicide after leaving corpse of girlfriend in residence
KANAGAWA (TR) – Man in custody for allegedly leaving the corpse of his former girlfriend at his residence in Kawasaki City attempted suicide after committing the crime, police said, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (May 9). As previously reported, Hideyuki Shirai allegedly abandoned the body of Asahi Okazaki, 20, inside his residence between December 20 last year and April 30. In the latest development, police have revealed that Shirai attempted to kill himself by inhaling fumes from burning charcoal briquettes in the residence on January 3. After that, he told police officers who arrived at the scene, 'My family suspected me of being involved in the incident, and I thought I had no way out.' He added, 'Things weren't going well with her, so I thought I wanted to die.' Hideyuki Shirai (X) 'Okazaki is not here' Okazaki went missing on December 20, 2024. After that, police questioned Shirai seven times and inspected his home on a voluntary basis three times. According to investigators, Shirai each time said 'Okazaki is not here.' During the searches, investigators had failed to notice the body in a storage space under the floorboards. On the night of April 30, police searched the home again on suspicion of violating the Stalking Prevention Act and found the partially skeletal body in a bag. At the time of the discovery, the whereabouts of Shirai were unknown. Police later learned that he fled to the United States in early April. He arrived at Haneda International Airport on May 3. The suspect initially admitted to the charges, but has stopped speaking about the case since his arrest. That same day, police confirmed that the body found in the residence is that of Okazaki. 'She had exaggerated the story' It was also revealed that the suspect's older brother had contacted the prefectural police in mid-January. He said, 'I think Shirai may have killed Okazaki.' After police arrested Shirai on May 3, they explained the main events of the incident to the press, but did not make details about the attempted suicide and multiple visits to the residence public. Police stated that the reason for this was that 'it would hinder the investigation.' There are also discrepancies between the claims of Okazaki's family and the explanation of the prefectural police. Last September, Okazaki filed a complaint with the police, claiming that Shirai had assaulted her, but withdrew it about a month later. Police said, 'Okazaki said that she had exaggerated the story.' But her father claimed, 'I heard from my daughter that she withdrew the complaint because she was threatened by the suspect.' According to reporting by Shueisha Online, Shirai fled to the U.S. at the urging of his mother, with whom regularly exchanged chat messages. In messages between Shirai and his mother that were obtained by Okasaki's father, the suspect says he wants to go somewhere far away, to which his mother suggests America. 'America would be good, but you don't have a passport yet,' she wrote on February 12. During this ordeal, Isamu Tobimatsu, a former Hyogo Prefectural Police detective, supported the family. 'After that, Shirai actually got a passport and told Okazaki's father in March that he was going to America,' Tobimatsu says. 'Okazaki's father asked the police to stop Shirai from leaving the country on suspicion of stalking or something. But that didn't happen, and Shirai left the country around early April.' On May 9, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police established an investigation team to check their response before and after the incident.
Asahi Shimbun
10-05-2025
- Asahi Shimbun
VOX POPULI: Stalking case in Kawasaki that led to worst-case outcome
Bouquets of flowers are offered on May 5 in front of a house where the body of Asahi Okazaki was found in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on April 30. (Asahi Shimbun file photo) In a spin-off of Miko Yasu's popular graphic novel series 'Hakozume' (Police in a Pod) that was dramatized for TV, fictional Machiyama Police Station keeps getting calls from a quarrelsome couple who would report each other for vandalism, initiating a fight, and so on. Senior police officer Kana Kuroda and her colleagues urge the couple to break up and promise never to see each other again. A few days later, however, the woman goes missing. Massive bloodstains are found in the apartment where the couple used to live. Police mount a search for the man as the prime suspect. Stunned by this worst-case outcome, Kuroda asks herself, 'What should have been the correct way for us to proceed? Where did we go wrong?' It is never easy to determine exactly when and how to intervene in an altercation between lovers. One misstep could lead to unexpected--even fatal--consequences. In the case of 20-year-old Asahi Okazaki whose body were discovered in Kawasaki, the Kanagawa prefectural police put together an inspection team to examine its own handling of phone calls and other communications from the woman, who reported she was being stalked by her former boyfriend. Okazaki called the police around 10 p.m. on Dec. 19 last year, but was told to 'call back during the daytime.' Something serious must have been troubling her, as she phoned again just after 7 a.m. the following day, only to be told to call again later. Okazaki vanished that same day. This is so hard to take. Anti-stalking measures have been reinforced through repeated legal revisions. Still, a National Police Agency official who handles such situations has been quoted as saying, 'I feel quite strongly that what matters the most in implementing those measures is the awareness of each individual police officer.' I wonder what sort of anxiety Okazaki was fighting when she ended her last call to the police. I am trying to imagine, holding my smartphone in my hand. --The Asahi Shimbun, May 10 * * * Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
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
Yomiuri Shimbun
08-05-2025
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Kawasaki Stalking Case: Passive Stance by Police Caused Public Distrust
Although a female stalking victim repeatedly expressed her concerns, why did the police not respond actively? The handling of the incident, which ended in the worst way with the victim's death, should be investigated and the results should be made public. A skeletonized body was found in a house in Kawasaki, and the Kanagawa prefectural police arrested Hideyuki Shirai, who lived in the house, on a charge of abandoning the body. The body was identified as that of Asahi Okazaki, 20, who lived in the city. Okazaki was a former girlfriend of Shirai, and she had been missing since Dec. 20 last year. Shirai has admitted to the charge, according to the police. Since June last year, Okazaki had repeatedly asked the prefectural police for help, reporting that she had suffered violence committed by Shirai. In December, she contacted the police nine times, for example telling them that Shirai was prowling around her house. However, the police only instructed Okazaki not to leave her house and did not question Shirai. The Anti-Stalking Law bans prowling around victims. However, the prefectural police determined that Shirai's acts did not constitute a case of stalking, saying, 'We urged Ms. Okazaki to come to the station to confirm the facts, but she refused to do so.' Victims of stalking tend to have wavering feelings over fear of retaliation by the perpetrators. Why did the police disregard her repeated reports of stalking and determine that they had no need to react? If the police had gone and talked to her, isn't it possible that they could have saved her life? The actions of the prefectural police after Okazaki went missing are also puzzling. A glass window at her grandmother's house — where Okazaki was temporarily staying — was broken, but the police did not check for fingerprints and investigate further. It was not until the police learned that Shirai had left for the United States that they finally searched his home and found Okazaki's body there. It is quite natural that the bereaved family of Okazaki is angry with the police. The prefectural police said that 'necessary measures were taken,' but poor responses to the situation can be seen at every turn, leading to a sense of distrust among the public. It is not acceptable to brush this case under the rug. It is necessary to identify the problems with the investigation from a neutral and impartial standpoint. The Anti-Stalking Law came into effect in 2000 in response to the murder of a female university student in Okegawa, Saitama Prefecture. The National Police Agency calls on the victims to contact the police. However, it is troubling if such a policy is not carried out thoroughly by officers on the front lines. It is true that the human mind is complicated and it is difficult to intervene in stalking cases. However, underestimating and mishandling the situation can lead to the victim's death. An increasing number of police officers are too young to remember the Okegawa incident. Hopefully, their sense of urgency can be raised through training sessions. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 8, 2025)
