A 35-year-old man has been arrested for the random killing of a 24-year-old woman in Kobe, Japan, after he allegedly followed her for nearly an hour and stabbed her in an apartment elevator before fleeing to Tokyo on the shinkansen.
A 35-year-old truck driver from Tokyo has been accused of randomly targeting and killing a young woman in her apartment building in Kobe, in a case that has shocked local residents and drawn nationwide attention.
The suspect, Masashi Tanimoto, was arrested on August 22 near JR Oku-Tama Station in Tokyo and transferred to Kobe for investigation.
He has admitted to stabbing the victim but denied intent to kill, according to the Fukiai Police Station.
The attack occurred on the evening of August 20. The victim, 24-year-old Megumi Katayama, was returning home from work when Tanimoto allegedly began following her—trailing her for approximately 50 minutes over a distance of four kilometers.
Security camera footage showed the suspect tailing Katayama from her office, onto trains, and into a supermarket before finally following her into her apartment building in Kobe’s Chuo Ward. Inside the elevator, he restrained her in a grappling hold and stabbed her in the chest.
Neighbors heard screams and rushed to help, but she died from blood loss shortly after.
Tanimoto, who is originally from Kobe, had returned to his hometown during the Obon summer holiday.
Police say he had booked a hotel near the crime scene and had purchased a return ticket to Tokyo in advance, suggesting possible premeditation.
After the attack, he boarded a shinkansen from Shin-Kobe Station and returned to Tokyo. He was apprehended two days later in Okutama.
Tanimoto worked for a transport company in Tokyo’s Takadanobaba area. His employer described him as a serious and mature worker who had moved to Tokyo to “cut ties with bad influences.” He had not responded to messages from his boss since returning to Kobe.
Authorities are still investigating how the victim was selected and the full motives behind the attack.
