On the morning of Sunday, December 31 2001, Haruko tried to phone her daughter, as she did most mornings, but the call wouldn’t go through. By 10:00 am, Haruko still hadn’t seen or heard from Yasuko or the rest of the family and she began to worry. There was no internal connection between the two homes, so she went outside and knocked on the Miyazawa’s front door. When there was no response, she let herself inside.

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Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at anytime you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. Some suggestions for confidential support for men, women and children:

AUSTRALIA:

Lifeline Crisis Support: 13 11 14

Beyond Blue: Depression and anxiety support: 1300 22 46 36

Rape & Domestic Violence Services: 1800 737 732

Men's Line: 1300 78 99 78

Headspace: Youth Mental Health Foundation: see headspace.org.au for your local centre

USA:

Distress &  Lifeline: 1800 273 8255

Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741 741

Domestic Violence Helpline: 1800 799 7233

Victim Connect: support for victims of crime: 855 484 2846

MTC program: maketheconnection.net/resources/spread-the-word

UK:

Mind: mental health support: 0300 123 3393

SANE: mental health support: 0300 304 7000

Samaritans support network: 116 123

National Stalking Helpline: 0808 802 0300

CANADA:

For a list of Canadian crisis centres: https://thelifelinecanada.ca/help/call/

NEW ZEALAND:

Lifeline: 0800 543354

Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 (Text 4202)

CREDITS

Casefile Presents

NARRATION:

Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host

EPISODE:

Researched by Holly Boyd

Written by Elsha McGill

Creative director: Milly Raso

MUSIC:

‘Flatline intro’ and ‘Come play with me’ intro and outro www.dl-sounds.com

All other music and audio clean up performed by Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn

OTHER:

Logo design by Paulina Szymanska

RESOURCES

TOKYO POLICE DEPARTMENT:

Robbery and quadruple murder of a family in Kami-Soshigaya 3-chome – Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (as at 16 December 2019)

Also includes:
3D image video of the crime scene and its vicinity at the time of the murder

How did the perpetrator use the handkerchiefs?

What is the colour of the perpetrator’s hair?

What are the characteristics of the shoes worn by the perpetrator? 

Where was the scarf manufactured? Where was it sold?

Investigation special cash reward systems

English PDF case detail

English PDF information on wanted “Ojizosan” statue

What are the characteristics of the hip bag and scarf?

BOOKS:

Setagaya Family Murder Case – Confessions of Intruders – by Tora Saito

If You Can Understand the Meaning of this Sadness: The Setagaya Case, The Story of Loss and Rebirth – by Anku Irie

Setagaya Family Murder Case: 15 years on, the new facts – by Fumiya Ichihashi

ARTICLES:

Misdeeds by once-honored police dismay the Japanese – The New York Times (7 March 2000)

Shirt may be linked to family’s killer – Japan Times (4 January 2001)

Brutal murder of family heightens Japanese fears – the Guardian (7 January 2001)

Suspect stayed at Setagaya home half-day after murders – Japan Policy and Politics (the FreeLibrary) (29 June 2001)

Photos of murdered family shown in memorial exhibit – Japan Times (29 December 2003)

Setagaya killer may be Asian or Japanese of mixed descent: report+ – TMC News (17 October 2006)

Kin of murder victims seek open-ended cases – Kyodo News (12 January 2009)

Diet abolishes statute of limitations on murder – The Asahi Shimbun (28 April 2010)

12 years since the Setagaya family murder case… – Asahi (12 September 2012)

Police extend claim period for rewards in 3 unsolved murder cases – Japan Today (10 December 2012)

Family’s killer may have left home at night – Daily Yomiuri (via Questia) (13 December 2014)

Setagaya family killed “man with blood in hand near the scene” – NHK (Japan’s public broadcaster) (23 March 2015)

New book claims to shed light on Setagaya family murders in 2000 – Japan Today (13 December 2015)

Reward period extended in 5 murder cases – Japan Today (8 December 2015)

Relative of murdered family says TV Asahi program misrepresented her – The Japan Times (14 December 2015)

Setagaya Family murder, I know the “true culprit” – fatal police failure and media negligence – Kodansha (25 December 2015)

BPO recommends TV Asahi Special program for Setagaya family killing case – Asahi (12 September 2016)

Setagaya family murder case – did the culprit flee by about 3:30 am – Asahi (28 December 2015)

Police vow to solve 2000 murder of Tokyo family – Mainichi (31 December 2015)

Setagaya family murder, victim’s sister’s “afterwards” – Toyokeizai (13 January 2018)

The Global Economy looks disturbingly like Japan before its ‘Lost Decade’ – Forbes (18 April 2019)

Police in talks with Setagaya family murder victims’ relatives about demolishing crime scene – Japan Today (19 November 2019)

The Killer without a Face – ABC (28 December 2019)

Relative of slain family fights to preserve their house in Tokyo – the Asahi Shimbun (19 January 2020)

VIDEOS:

BPO Decision regarding An Irie’s complaint against Asahi TV (12 September 2016)

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