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A 42-year-old man arrested over the fatal stabbing of a young woman while she was livestreaming on a Tokyo street said he wanted the world to know she had failed to repay debts to him, investigative sources said Friday. The statement by the suspect, Kenichi Takano, came after he was arrested Tuesday over the killing of 22-year-old Airi Sato in a residential area of Shinjuku, one of Tokyo's busiest wards. He claimed she owed him over 2 million yen.
"I thought the world would know what she had done if I created an incident and a trial was held," he was quoted as telling investigators, the sources said. Takano said that he had taken out 1 million yen in loans from two consumer credit companies to lend Sato, the sources said. He was sent to prosecutors Thursday on a charge of murder.
During a search of his home in Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, police seized more than 10 receipts for bank transfers, some of which were to Sato. Takano approached Sato while she was walking alone and started stabbing her without saying a word, the sources said. In all, he inflicted more than 30 injuries including fatal wounds to her neck and chest, according to the police.
Takano first learned of Sato through her streams in February 2021. Around August 2022, he began frequenting her workplace and later started lending her money after she claimed to be struggling to pay her living expenses, the sources said. After losing contact with Sato around January to February 2023, Takano sued Sato that August over the unreturned money.
A court then ordered her to pay 2.5 million yen to Takano, the sources said. In January 2024, however, he consulted local police, saying Sato had gone missing following the ruling, according to the sources.
Takano purchased the survival knife used in the incident by mail order two to three months ago and brought it from his home to the Takadanobaba district..
