5th High School Boy Arrested in Tochigi Robbery-Murder Case

Utsunomiya, Tochigi Pref., May 30 (Jiji Press)–An 18-year-old male high school student was arrested on Saturday for allegedly introducing a boy, 16, who later served as a perpetrator in a high-profile robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture, eastern Japan. In the case, Eiko Tomiyama, 69, was killed at her house in the town of Kaminokawa on May 14. Over the crime, the 16-year-old boy, a high school student from the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, and three other male high school students, all 16, had been arrested by the Tochigi prefectural police department by May 16. The four allegedly acted as perpetrators. On or around May 13, the student arrested by the Tochigi police Saturday, who is from the Kanagawa city of Sagamihara, allegedly introduced the Kawasaki boy to one of the other three boys who played a leading role among the assailants, using a communication app, despite knowing that the Kawasaki boy would be used as a perpetrator in the robbery. The 18-year-old boy is suspected of violating the employment security law, which bans the introduction of harmful jobs. Relations between the boy who played a central role and the Kawasaki boy had remained unclear while the Sagamihara student has been acquainted with the other two 16-year-old boys, who are also from Sagamihara. According to the prefectural police, an analysis of a seized smartphone found that the Sagamihara boy had asked the 18-year-old suspect, an acquaintance of his, to introduce an accomplice for the robbery. The police have identified Kazuhiko Masuda, 48, as the key suspect who orchestrated the robbery, and Kaito Takemae, 28, and his wife as the on-site supervisors. Masuda, who is currently wanted by police, has known the couple for some time, and Takemae has been acquainted with the Sagamihara boy with a central role. Takemae and his wife have already been arrested. The police suspect that Masuda, who obtained information on Tomiyama’s assets, recruited perpetrators through Takemae. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]