The Unsolved Mysterious Murder of Junko Kobayashi
Introduction
On a cold and rainy autumn day on the 9th of September 1996, Kenji Kobayashi spent his day away from home on a business trip to Fukushima. That same day, Kenji’s older daughter Akiko left the Kobayashi home for work as well, leaving mother Sachiko and younger daughter Junko alone at the Kobayashi home in Tokyo’s Katsushika ward.
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| The Kobayashi family |
21-year old Junko Kobayashi, a senior at Tokyo’s Sophia University, stayed at home on the second floor of the Kobayashi home. Junko majored in English, had participated in teaching English to children and aspired to be a journalist after graduating. In order to improve herself, she joined an exchange program to Seattle University in the US and was scheduled to leave in 2 days on the 11th of September.
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| Manuscript submitted by Junko to her University |
Around 3pm, Junko went downstairs from her room on the 2nd floor to go to the bathroom. Her mother was downstairs and planned to go to work within the same hour. Before getting back upstairs Junko asked her mother “Are you riding your bike despite the heavy rain?”, referring the rainy conditions which had become particularly heavy during the afternoon. Unbeknownst to her mother, these were the last words she would ever hear from Junko. At 3:50 pm Junko’s mother left the house to go to her part-time job at a beauty salon, leaving the front door of the house unlocked.
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| Location of the house provided by police |
49 minutes later, at 16:39 a call was made from a neighboring house to report a fire from the Kobayashi home, which allegedly was first sighted around 4 minutes earlier at 16:35. Firemen rushed to the scene and eventually extinguished the fire at around 18:00 pm. At this point, the entire house had been badly damaged and the interior was reported to be completely burned. When firefighters entered the house, Junko was found on the second floor in her parents’ bedroom. Her body was laying sideways in her father’s futon, whereas her upper body was covered with a sheet. The left and right edges of her father’s futon were notably tucked underneath her body but her clothes had been undisturbed. Junko’s mouth had been taped shut, and the same adhesive tape was used to tie up her hands. Additionally, Junko’s legs were tied together with a pair of pantyhose. On top of this, blood had been noted on her neck. Junko was immediately brought to the hospital, but was pronounced dead at arrival.
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| Police investigation the burned Kobayashi home |
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| Junko Kobayashi |
Junko’s
death came as a shock to her family and the community, who saw the loss of life
of someone who was just about the start her dream of becoming a journalist.
Police investigation
Autopsy
Detectives turned to the medical coroner for an in-depth examination of Junko’s body, partly because of the extremely difficult investigation of the burned crime scene itself. Junko’s body held some important details for possible leads. During the autopsy of Junko’s body, 6 stab wounds were found on mostly the right side of her neck which had been bleeding profusely. The stab wounds were caused by a knife-like objects of about 3 cm wide and 8 cm long, which police had not found at the scene. A lack of black substance in Junko’s airways led forensic scientists believe Junko had passed away before the fire was lit. The final autopsy report stated the most probable cause of death had been the stab wounds to Junko’s neck. In addition, several injuries on Junko’s arms were found, which had been partly covered by the adhesive tape. This led investigators to believe Junko may have been fighting with the culprit before she had been tied up by the tape.
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| Police sketch of the alleged murder weapon |
Other than the autopsy itself, investigators found several clues on Junko’s body connected to the murder. The adhesive tape used to shut Junko’s mouth and tie her hands held important clues. Investigators found the tape had been manufactured in a factory in Shizuoka prefecture after January of 1994, it had been sold widely across Japan both to businesses as well as private citizens through distribution stores with a price of around 700-800 yen. The tape was 25 meters long and 50 mm wide, to this day a picture of similar tape can be found on the website of the Japanese police department.
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| Police picture of similar tape used to tie Junko's hands and mouth |
After questioning Junko’s family members, police suspected the tape had presumably been brought in by the culprit. On closer inspection, the tape contained fragments of wood, plants and dog hair which, according to investigators, may have been brought in via the culprit’s clothes. The dog hair was believed to be of 3 different types of dogs, making it likely the culprit had been living with or around multiple dogs.
A second finding was the knot used to tie Junko’s legs with a pair of pantyhouse. The knot used to tie her legs is known as a “bundle knot” or in Japanese “Karage-musubi” (からげ結び). This type of knot is used in jobs as landscaping, electrical work, civil engineering, Japanese clothing, scaffolding assembly and used paper collection.
In the meantime, police turned to investigating the burned 2-story Kobayashi home located around 250 meter northwest from Shibamata station. While Shibamata station can get quite busy, the location of the Kobayashi home is considered a quiet residential area.
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| Crime scene at the time |
In 2014
police worked together with a 3D printing company to recreate the home based on
photo’s and blueprints of the house, which resulted in a 1:28 scale model. The
first floor contains an entrance, living spaces, a bathroom, toilet and a
kitchen. It’s
believed the fire had been started on the first floor in two different places,
being:
1. A closet of the family’s Japanese-style tatami room on the first floor’s east side, the fire was set at the Buddhist altar with matches.
2. Computer on the first floor.
3D printed model of the Kobayashi home
Near the entrance of the house, the matchbox used to ignite the fire was found containing blood. Additionally, a drawer in the 1st floor’s living room showed signs someone had gone through it. According to Kenji Kobayashi, a 10.000 yen bill was missing from the drawer, though no other items were missing from the house.
The
second floor consisted of Akiko’s room, Junko’s room and at the end of the hallway
the room of their parents. The murder of Junko is believed to have happened in
her parents’ room, where she was found. And police discovered not only blood
from Junko herself, but also blood from a person who had not been one of the
Kobayashi family members on Kenji Kobayashi’s futon. In 2006 it was reported
that both the blood found on the matchbox and the blood on Kenji’s futon
belonged to a male with blood type A, which excluded any of the other family
members. In 2014 it was reported that the blood found on the matchbox matched
the DNA of the blood found on the futon.
Another notable change in the house was the movement of Kenji’s slippers. Kenji would wear his slippers inside the house and would always leave them at the front door when he’d leave. At the crime scene, however, his slippers were found on the second floor of the house.
Suspect
Police
continued their investigation by interviewing those who had passed the area in
the days and hours leading up to Junko’s death. Especially the 49-minute
timeframe between 3:50 pm en 4:39 pm when Junko was alone in the house would be
especially valuable to figure out for investigators. Soon multiple people came
forward with similar stories of a man standing in front of the Kobayashi house
on the day of Junko’s murder. A chronological timeline of these reports is as
follows:
- 3
days before Junko’s death: a middle aged man was trying to enter several houses
in the area and acted suspicious by playing with a lighter.
- 1
day before Junko’s death: at around 5 am, a man was heard screaming “don’t be
silly, I’m going to kill you”
- On
the morning of the incident: two reports stated a middle aged man had asked
directions to Shibamata 3-chome, both at and near Keisei Takasago station, a
station about 1 km from the Kobayashi home.
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| Locations of nearby stations and the Kobayashi home |
- 9:00 am to 3:00 pm on the day of
Junko’s murder:
a man with white gloves was seen wandering nearby Kanamachi park for 6 hours.
- 1:00 pm: a man in his 40s was following a
housewife near the Kobayashi’s home. He was reported to be doing gymnastics and
played with a lighter in front of the house.
- 3:30 pm: a man with a yellow coat, black pants and a black umbrella was seen standing in the rain on the intersection about 15 meters from the south side of the Kobayashi home. In august of 2021 an illustration of this man was released to the general public.
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| Sketch of mysterious man, released in 2021 |
- 3:50 pm: Junko’s mother Sachiko
leaves the house.
- 3:55 pm: a man was reported to stare at the Kobayashi home in the rain while not carrying an umbrella. The man was reported to be wearing an ocher coat and dark pants, he was estimated to be around 30 years old and around 160 cm tall with a slim posture. In September of 2018 the metropolitan police department released an illustration of the man, in the hope more people would come forward with additional information. Despite not carrying an umbrella, police believes this man may very well be the same as the man from the 2021 illustration.
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| Sketch of mysterious man, released in 2018 |
- Around
4:00pm: two reports state a man in his 40s was standing on the road
looking at the Kobayashi home, one of the reports state the man was holding a
black umbrella. Another report states a man in his early 30s was riding a
bicycle on the south side of the victim’s house around this time.
- 4:15 pm: a passerby passed the Kobayashi
house and hadn’t seen a fire at this time.
- Between 4:30 – 4:40 pm: a man in his 20s or 30s wearing
white gloves and without umbrella was seen running towards Shibamata station.
- 4:35 pm: neighbors had noticed a fire at
the Kobayashi home.
- 4:39 pm: first report of the fire was called in to the fire department.
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| Composite photo of the area with both sketches |
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| Screenshot of the 3D recreation of the crime scene |
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| Recreation of the crime scene by police |
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| Close-up sketch of the mysterious man |
All
together police questioned thousands of people and gathered 1547 pieces of
information that could help the investigation. Even though police found
multiple leads when combining autopsy results, crime scene findings and
information of the general public, the mysterious man and suspected killer
disappeared into thin air.
Search for answers by the family
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| Funeral ceremony Junko Kobayashi |
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| Google Streetview location of the Kobayashi home |
A funeral was held, where Junko’s family and friends mourned her unexpected and mysterious death. The Kobayashi home was badly burned and was eventually taken down, staying an empty plot of land for years after Junko’s murder as can be seen on Google Streetview images of 2009. Eventually, father Kenji Kobayashi donated the land the house once stood on to the local fire department, which built a small building used for storing their equipment. At the front of the property a memorial was set up named Junko Jizo (順子地蔵), which is still present to this day and remains an important landmark for those working hard to solve this case.
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| Kenji Kobayashi praying at Junko Jizo |
While police continued their investigation, father Kenji Kobayashi tried his hardest to find out who murdered his daughter and why. Kenji started handing out flyers at the nearby train station, in hopes someone still had information that could help police catch the culprit. Kenji has also appeared in multiple news segments as well as news articles to remind the world he’s still actively looking for what exactly happened to Junko. Kenji has stated “nothing would be more unfortunate than buried information being out there at this moment. I want people to provide us with the information they have, even if it is minor”, also adding that he believes there is still information out there investigators haven’t found yet. Sister Akiko appeared in an interview as well, showing her notes written at the time of the incident. In addition as one of the few items not lost in the house fire, Akiko shows earrings she received from Junko as a present.
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| Kenji raising awareness about Junko's case |
Back in
2003, no official cash reward system for criminal cases in Japan was present.
To reward those who would come forward with information leading up to the
culprit, Kenji decided to set up a private cash fund containing 5 million yen
through the “Association for Investigating the Murder of Junko Kobayashi”. At a
press conference Kenji stated “an image of what the suspect looks like hasn’t
even emerged. As a parent who has lost his daughter, this is the last thing I
can do. I feel I am clutching at straws”. Later saying “For me, money was no
issue at all.”
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| Junko Kobayashi |
4 years later in 2007, the National Police Agency started the “Investigation SpecialCash Reward System”, which uses public funds up to 3 million yen per selected case. Including Junko’s murder case, 5 cases across Japan have been selected for a monetary reward. Since 2010, including Kenji’s private funds, a reward of 8 million has been set for information leading to the culprit. According to the official police website the reward has been set till at least September 8th of 2023.
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| Cases included in the Investigation Special Cash Reward System |
From September to December in 1996, police received 184 pieces of information from the general public. After Kenji’s private funded reward, 150 new tips were submitted to police. While new information is still received with 47 new pieces of information in 2020, unfortunately, a declining trend has been seen. One of the most recent submissions of significant information was received in august of 2020 when Kenji was answering question for a TV interview at the site where the murder happened. Kenji noticed a 46 year old woman staring, after which he immediately asked the woman if she had any new information. “I think maybe I saw the perpetrator” were her reply. The woman was 21 at the time and saw a suspicious man around 15 meter from the scene, which police drew and released as the sketch as presented earlier.
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| Poster asking for information |
Other than Kenji’s flyer actions and money reward, an organization called “Murder Victim Bereaved Families Association” (殺人事件被害者遺族の会) also known as “The sky’s meeting” (宙の会) was formed on the 28th of February of 2009 with Kenji Kobayashi as chairman. Besides Kenji, other members of the association include 20 families linked to 16 murder cases across Japan, including bereaved family of the infamous Setagaya family murders which occurred in December of 2000. One of the goals of the association was to seek abolition and suspension of the statute of limitation. While Japan already extended the statute of limitation period in 2004, due to several crime victim associations with support of the general public and expert opinions, the statute of limitations in Japan for crimes such as murder was abolished on the 28th of April 2010. The new law applied for cases of which the statute of limitations had not ran out at the time the new law took effect, which made sure the investigation of Junko’s case continued.
In recent years, it was
known father Kenji Kobayashi, now in his 70s, was reported to have cancer.
While he had supposedly received treatment and is doing well as per 2023, Junko’s
parents are getting older and are still waiting for information that can solve
Junko’s case after more than 25 years. Nevertheless, Kenji is still working on
Junko’s case, still carrying around Junko’s signed phone card as a reminder of
his daughter.
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| Signed phonecard of Junko |
Theories
As of 2023, the killer of Junko Kobayashi still remains at large, and thus a motive for Junko’s murder cannot be known for certain. Though, several theories have surfaced based on information found so far. Let’s go over the 3 most probable theories as to what happened.
Theory number 1: the killer was an acquaintance or friend
Several clues lead to the theory that the killer may have been someone known to the family. The crime had happened in the afternoon, which might be a more unusual timing for a murder to happen. It is, however, easier for an acquaintance of the family to enter the house at this hour. In addition, Kenji’s slippers would normally be left at the front door if he’d be out of the house, while the slippers at the crime scene were found on the 2nd floor. Junko may have opened the door for someone she knew and invited the person inside, Junko may then have offered her father’s slippers to wear for the guest. While the thought process behind this is unknown, Junko’s body was covered by a thin blanket and the futon she was laying on was tucked in from both sides. Some speculate this to be something an acquaintance may perform. Other clues have not pointed towards any acquaintance of Junko or the family, even after extensive investigations of the police department. Other than that, as far as public information goes, there is no good reason why any acquaintance would want to kill Junko. Police also looked into people who might’ve had a grudge or negative feeling toward Junko, but no one had been suspected.
Theory number 2: the killer was a stalker
Some speculate a stalker was at play and for some reason decided to kill Junko. Stalkers are a prevalent problem in Japan, and a further increase of incident reports across the country since Junko’s murder has been noted according to data from the National Police Agency. Even stalkers taking things a step further, such as killing their victim, is not unheard of in Japan. Take for example the case of 38 year old Miki Kawano who was stalked for months by her ex-boyfriend Susumu Terauchi, even after reporting him to police multiple times. In January of 2023 Miki was stabbed multiple times, after which Susumu was arrested by police.
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| Miki Kawano |
In Junko’s case, 10 days before her murder, Junko was coming home after a farewell party she attended, though she returned to the nearby train station because she believed a man was following her. The man could’ve waited several days before finding an opening when Junko was home alone, since the timeframe was relatively short from the moment her mother left to the reported fire. If a stalker was the culprit, he might have been frustrated with Junko’s plan of leaving Japan and staying in the US for a longer period of time. There also seems to be a premeditated component, as the adhesive tape and the knife-like tool used to stab Junko were believed to be brought in by the killer. The lack of motive in this case might support this theory as well, since there might be more of an emotional motive rather than for example a financial motive at play.
Theory number 3: the killer was a burglar.
After Sachiko, Junko’s mother, left the house the front door was unlocked. This would give an intruder easy access to the house.
In November 2009, 48-year-old Tatsumi Tateyama was arrested for multiple crimes against 9 women, including robbing and killing 21-year-old Chiba University senior Yukari Ogino in her east Tokyo apartment in an eerily similar way. The man had been in prison for the previous 7 years after he was sentenced for burglary in 2002, and had probably been committing crimes since his release in September of 2009. After killing Yukari Ogino, 20.000 yen had been taken off of her bank account at a local ATM, which resulted in the following picture and subsequent capture of the Tatsumi Tateyama.
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| Tatsumi Tateyama ATM picture |
The arrested man was described as “abnormally obsessed with women” and he would allegedly stand at stations to look for in his eyes “good targets”. He’d then follow his target for several days to learn about their routine, after which he’d commit his crime. Just as in Junko’s case, Yukari Ogino had been tied up with stockings, she’d been stabbed in the neck and chest and her apartment had been burned after the crime. In Junko’s case there had been reports of a man following her from the nearby train station 10 days before her death, as well as reports of a man wandering around the Kobayashi house several days before the crime took place. Another piece that fits the puzzle is Tatsumi Tateyama’s age, in 1996 he’d be in his mid-thirties, which is in concordance with eye-witness accounts of the mysterious man.
Tatsumi Tateyama admitted to killing Yukari Ogino and setting her apartment on fire to destroy possible DNA evidence. Though, after an extensive investigation and questioning by police, it was concluded there was not enough evidence to link Tatsumi Tateyama to Junko’s case. While Tatsumi’s crimes were motivated by his obsession with women as well as stealing their money, Junko’s clothes were undisturbed and most of the money in the Kobayashi home had not been taken. At the time, the house contained multiple sources of money, including a large sum of money in Junko’s luggage she’d planned to take with her to the US.
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| Junko's luggage |
In the
end, police chief of the first investigative division Koji Watarai, said the
investigation is ongoing without excluding possibilities. He also added that “There
are parts where we really don’t know the motive”.
Conclusion
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| Kenji looking at a picture of Junko |
Kenji
Kobayashi is still searching for answers on why his daughter had to die on that
fateful day of the 9th of September in 1996. While more than 25
years have passed since Junko’s death, the case is still being worked on by
both family members as well as officials. Let’s hope Kenji and his family find
the answers they’re looking for, so that after such a long time they can have
some form of closure. May Junko Kobayashi rest in peace.
If anyone watching has any form of information which might be useful for this case, please contact the right officials through the following channels:
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| Contact information by police |
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