British Teacher Found Dead in Sand-filled Bathtub

Update 7: [Saturday March 31st] The late-nite news shed a little light on a theory that is gaining steam in the murder case of Lindsay Ann Hawker.

It is suspected that the alleged killer, Ichihashi Tatsuya, had his eye on Hawker for a period of time before actually approaching her. Partly fueled by interviews with local residents, the theory goes that he had been stalking her. It is speculated that he knew where she lived, worked, and socialized with her friends.

Update 8: [Monday April 2nd] Over the weekend Lucie Blackman's father spoke out in support of the Hawker family.

Articles being carried by both the Japan Times and the Mainichi (English) hint at growing impatience with the pace of the investigation. Mr. Bill Hawker demonstrated impressive restraint and diplomacy during the first news conference last Wednesday when he said that he was satisfied with the investigation being carried out by police (a diplomatic tact was likely coached by members of the British embassy). Now he is attempting to apply some pressure by saying that the country has been "shamed" by this crime.

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Update 9
Original story (plus updates 1 - 6)

British Teacher Found Dead in Sand-filled Bathtub

BizCast on TPR

Trans-Pacific Radio just started a new podcast, called BizCast, that focuses on, you guessed it, business in Japan.

They've got a pretty crazy array of Japan-related podcasts and articles now. Don't quite know where they find the time!

BizCast on TPR

British Woman Murdered

The police are searching for the suspected murderer in the death of 22 year old English teacher, Lindsay Ann Hawker.


The late-night news dedicated nearly 5 minutes of their program on Tuesday to discussion of the details of the crime, but what is surprising is that the body was allegedly discovered by police on Monday night.

The delay in reporting on this case, especially by the print media (Kyodo, to its credit, has a couple of items on its website that were posted on Tuesday), is a little strange. This story has not been deemed front page material by most news outlets.

As for the big English-language newspapers in Japan, the Yomiuri and Japan Times still haven't filed a story related to the alleged murder. Meanwhile, the Asahi lists ramen shops, flu shots, and possible landslides as being more news-worthy (one must click past the front-page headlines to reach the article linked to below).

I think most people would agree that if a non-Japanese woman or man was suspected of killing a Japanese, then the story would receive much more attention.

This case is reminding people of what is commonly thought to be impossible: that a foreign resident of Japan can actually be the victim of a crime. Up until now (1pm Wednesday), reporting has reflected that common stereotype.

Hopefully we will have a more complete account of what happened once they nab the guy who is the prime suspect.

And on a side note, how did the police lose the suspect even when they were in the guy's apartment to begin with? Kyodo reported that he escaped from the officers barefoot!

Update 1: [Wednesday March 28th] The Japanese version of the Yomiuri Newspaper posted a brief article on its website at 2:37 this afternoon. It seems that the best place to get a detailed report on this crime is the international media (BBC).

Note: the suspect's name is Ichihashi, not Ichihachi as claimed in the BBC piece.

Update 2: The Japanese version of the Asahi Newspaper covers the same information revealed in the international press in an article posted at 3:17pm today (Tokyo time).

Update 3: Lindsay's father and boyfriend landed in Japan today and have since given a press conference pleading for information regarding the whereabouts of Ichihashi. The nightly news dedicated the first 10 minutes of the broadcast to the murder.

Update 4: [Thursday March 29th] All of the major news outlets have finally come around. It is now Thursday morning, and most papers are carrying articles (Japan Times) that detail yesterday's press conference. Everyone seems to be coming around to what Lindsay Hawker's family has asserted all along--that she had only known the suspect for a short time and was not dating him. The suspected murderer, Tatsuya Ichihashi, has still not been found.

Update 5: Forensic specialists have determined that Lindsay was bound with gardening wire and then strangled. It seems likely (although this is unconfirmed) that the severe beating she suffered preceded her being tied up.

Update 6: [Friday March 30th] The Yomiuri newspaper (Japanese) detailed some of the things that the suspect, Ichihashi Tatsuya, bought at a hardware store before police figured out where he lived. The Asahi (Japanese) talks a little bit about the chronology of events leading up to Hawker's death. The Mainichi (English) ran a story alleging that Ichihashi kept her tied up in his apartment for a while before killing her.



Updates 7 and 8
Update 9
Update 10
Update 11

British Woman Murdered

World Swimming Championships 2007

Crazy comeback courtesy of Park Tae-hwan from South Korea! In the final of the 400m freestyle Park was up against some pretty stiff competition. He is the owner of the Asian record for that distance, but going into the final turn he was in fourth place.

During the final 50m he looked like he had a motor hooked to his feet. I don't know why anyone would want to swim 400m without a break, but he clearly had more in the tank than everybody else. He rewrote his own record by 1.42 seconds, and all this at only 17 years of age! His time was 3:44.30.

Park is swimming in lane five which is the farthest yellow lane from the camera (this clip only shows the final 70m of the race).

And yes, that's me doing the play-by-play.

World Swimming Championships 2007

Mickey Mouse's Minions Smile Big But Can't Pour a Pint

Two cups of beer purchased at the same time (and poured by the same waitress) at Disney Sea in Chiba, Japan.

Mickey Mouse's Minions Smile Big But Can't Pour a Pint

Suicide in Japan

Japan carries the dubious distinction of having the highest suicide rate in the industrialized world.

Guess what. It's doesn't have the highest rate in the world.

In fact, it doesn't even have the highest suicide rate in the G8.

DeOrio did some suicide myth busting over at Trans-Pacific Radio if you're interested.

Suicide in Japan

Want Clean Air? You Need Clean Poo.

This is the type of air purifier that is used in the restaurant I went to last night. I have no idea whether the deer has anything to do with air purification.

Want Clean Air? You Need Clean Poo.

Comfort Women

Click here for a very interesting post over at TPR dealing with the comfort women issue as interpreted by the Japanese government.

Comfort Women