Man, 28, arrested in Okinawa over burned bodies found in Tochigi

Hikaru Sasaki enters the Metropolitan Police Department's Osaki police station in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward on Monday after being arrested on suspicion of disposing of two bodies found in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, earlier this month. | JIJI photo

April 29, 2024

Police on Monday arrested a 28-year-old man in relation to a case in which the burned bodies of a Tokyo couple were found near a river in the town of Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, two weeks ago.

Hikaru Sasaki, apprehended at Naha Airport in Okinawa Prefecture, is an acquaintance of Ryoken Hirayama, 25, who was arrested last week on suspicion of disposing of the bodies of businessman Ryutaro Takarajima, 55, and his wife Sachiko, 56.

Police arrested Sasaki for allegedly conspiring with Hirayama and others in damaging the bodies by setting fire to them on a riverbank in Nasu. Police have not revealed whether Sasaki admitted to the charge.