More Details About Ichihashi's Time in Osaka / More Words From Ichihashi's Mother

Following up on the major developments yesterday regarding Lindsay Ann Hawker murder suspect¹ Tatsuya Ichihashi's 13-month employment stint in Osaka, new details have come to light about his time there.

Two English-language articles, in the The Mainichi Daily News and The Japan Times, provide basically all of the latest facts being reported in the Japanese language media.

On one of the televised reports, Ichihashi was said to have told his manager about a favourite haunt in Osaka's pleasure district -- one of the areas police are focusing searches on.

Regarding Ichihashi's plastic surgery sessions, the amount he spent at the Nagoya clinic for a second rhinoplasty procedure on October 24th totaled 470,000 yen (approximately US$5,200).

With all the concentration on the timeline since Ichihashi joined the Ibaraki City construction company in September of 2008, not much is yet known about Ichihashi's time on the run since the original date Lindsay's body was discovered on March 26, 2007.

One TV reports suggests that Ichihashi worked as a male prostitute in Tokyo's Shinjuku 2-chôme district, a theory which was first posited as early as June of 2007 (see July 31, 2007 entry). This article on Japan Probe summarizes the content of the TV segment.


More startlingly, Tatsuya Ichihashi's mother telephoned in a plea for her son to turn himself in on a popular current events show. The call was arranged by and aired on Fuji TV wide-show Jôhô Presenter - Toku da ne! (channel 8, weekdays mornings 8:00~9:55). Most of the content has been translated in this AFP syndicated article.

In an additional comment, his mother could not reconcile having fond memories of Tatsuya's diligent work habits while taking into consideration the feelings of Lindsay's parents, calling it "unforgivable."

If this audio turns up on Youtube or elsewhere online please leave a comment.




¹ Although Ichihashi is the prime suspect in Lindsay Hawker's murder, the official crime he is listed as being suspected of is "illegal disposal of a dead body," which is often the first charge in a murder case.