A 26-year-old woman who had consulted police in July was allegedly confined by a former partner and found dead in a wooded area of Fukui Prefecture, putting Japan's stalking-response system under scrutiny.
Saya Nakada, a restaurant employee from Nonoichi, Ishikawa Prefecture, was found in the mountains of Awara, Fukui Prefecture, on Friday. Police arrested Koji Utsunomiya, 49, an unemployed man from Asaminami Ward, Hiroshima, on suspicion of confinement.
Utsunomiya has told investigators he killed Nakada and abandoned the body, according to police. They are investigating with an eye to charging him with murder and abandoning a corpse.
Death by suffocation
An autopsy found Nakada died of suffocation caused by pressure on the neck, and marks of compression remained on her throat. Police believe she died shortly after being confined on October 30.
The body was found roughly a week after death. Utsunomiya was sent to prosecutors from Hakusan Police Station on Saturday.
Alive until Komatsu
Police say Nakada got into Utsunomiya's car near her home in Nonoichi at around 5 a.m. on October 30. She was still alive at around 2:30 p.m. that day, near Komatsu.
Utsunomiya has denied part of the confinement allegation, saying it was not forced. He has suggested involvement in the killing and the disposal of the body.
A quiet shrine
The body was found at a shrine in Awara. A neighbor said police cars had passed through the area more often than usual in recent days.
Residents said the shrine draws a crowd only for a local festival each March. Once the harvest ends, the surrounding fields empty out.
“There aren't many people who go there even once a year.”a neighbor, resident near the shrine
Nakada had gone to police with a consultation in July, before the alleged abduction. Police have urged anyone who notices something unusual to call 110 immediately.