Kyoto police issue arrest warrant in nine-year-old murder of Japan’s gyoza king

Cigarette butt DNA helps investigators crack case.

Violent crime is incredibly rare in Japan, and gun control laws are extremely strict, so the country was shocked when Takayuki Ohigashi was shot to death in a Kyoto parking lot. Ohigashi was the president of Osho Food Service, parent company of Gyoza no Osho, Japan’s most popular gyoza restaurant chain (a branch of which is pictured above).

▼ Osho’s gyoza

On the day of his death, the 72-year-old Ohigashi had driven himself to the company’s headquarters in Kyoto’s Yamashina Ward, arriving customarily early. He parked, and at around 5:45 a.m. exited his vehicle, whereupon he was fatally shot four times in the chest and stomach.

The incident occurred on December 19, 2013, but despite an initial flurry of media coverage, media and public police reports soon went completely silent, with no arrests or suspects announced. As we approach the ninth anniversary of Ohigashi’s death, though, it’s come to light that investigators haven’t given up on the case, and have now issued an arrest warrant for the man they believe to be responsible for the killing.

DNA analysis of multiple cigarette butts found on the ground at the scene of the crime match that of Yukio Tanaka, a known member of the Kudokai yakuza organization based in Fukuoka Prefecture. Examination of security camera footage and tire skid marks also lead investigators to conclude that Tanaka fired the shots while on a stolen motorcycle, which he then fled the area on, and footage of other stolen motorcycles nearby, as well as a car with a Fukuoka license plate, are suspected to be the vehicles of accomplices.

On Thursday, the Kyoto Prefectural Police have issued an arrest warrant for the 65-year-old Tanaka on charges of murder and violation of the Firearms and Swords Control Act. Tracking him down won’t be too difficult, as he’s currently serving a ten-year sentence in a Fukuoka prison on a separate weapons possession and property damage charge.

Sources: Kyodo via Otakomu, Asahi Shimbun Digital, Jiji
Photos ©SoraNews24
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