Tokyo, Japan, commemorates student whose murder remains unsolved 30 years on
In Tokyo, Japan, family members and police commemorated Junko Kobayashi, a 21-year-old Sophia University student whose murder, committed on September 9, 1996, remains unsolved. The victim’s 80-year-old father, Kenji Kobayashi, along with officers from the Kameari police station, laid flowers at the site of the former family home in the Katsushika district, The Japan Times reports.
Kenji Kobayashi said he would not forgive the person who took his daughter’s life, dreams and hopes. He also said he intends to continue efforts to solve the case.
Circumstances of the crime
On the evening of September 9, 1996, the Kobayashi family home was set on fire and burned down. Junko Kobayashi’s body was found in her parents’ bedroom on the second floor. Her hands and feet were bound, and she had stab wounds to her neck and face.
Traces of type A blood belonging to an adult man were found on the bedding used to cover the body, as well as on a matchbox near the entrance to the house. Shortly before the crime, witnesses saw a man wearing a yellowish-brown raincoat and black trousers. He was standing with an umbrella at an intersection about 15 meters from the scene.
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The investigation continues
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has deployed a total of about 122,500 investigators to the case and received more than 1,800 reports from members of the public, including eyewitness accounts. On the day of the 30th anniversary, police officers distributed leaflets about the case near Shibamata Station of Keisei Electric Railway.
Police also published on their website a three-dimensional image of a person seen near the crime scene. Takahiro Hata, head of the First Investigation Division, said the investigation is continuing and urged the public to provide information that had not previously been reported.
Akinori Hirata, a division representative, noted that major changes in the area over the years have made it difficult to reconstruct the circumstances of the incident. At the same time, he said investigators continue their work by identifying priority areas of inquiry.
