Woman in Japan murdered during livestream after allegedly borrowing S$18K from attacker & ghosting him

Woman in Japan murdered during livestream, attacker claims she owed him S$18K

On Tuesday (11 March), a woman in Japan was tragically murdered during a livestream while walking the streets of Tokyo.

According to Kyodo News, the attacker claimed the victim owed him 2 million yen (S$18,000) and said he could no longer bear the thought of her making money without paying him back.

Source: Kyodo News

Stabbing stuns Japan

At around 9.50am, 22-year-old Airi Sato, known as the streamer Ai Mogami, was stabbed near Takadanobaba Station in Shinjuku Ward.

Ms Sato had been livestreaming at the time of the attack.

Source: NEWSポストセブン

Clips of the aftermath were circulated on X, with police sirens and radio clearly audible before the stream was abruptly shut off.

Viewers reportedly witnessed the attack live, with the assailant displaying Ms Sato’s bloody body during the stream.

Source: @tkzwgrs on X

The Japan Times reported that police arrested the perpetrator, 42-year-old Kenichi Takano, at the scene.

He admitted to tracking Ms Sato’s location through her stream.

“The night before the incident, I saw an announcement that Sato would be livestreaming while walking around Tokyo on Tuesday, so I decided to go to Tokyo the next morning,” said Takano.

Source: The Japan Times

Screenshots from her streaming profile showed that Ms Sato had planned to stream along the Yamanote Line that day.

Police believe Takano stabbed Ms Sato multiple times with a 13cm knife, leading to her death.

Attack motivated by a financial dispute

When questioned by police, Takano revealed that he attacked Ms Sato because she owed him money.

“I lent her more than 2 million yen using my savings and money borrowed from a consumer finance company,” he explained. “But I was unable to contact her since the beginning of 2023.”

He further stated that he could not bear the fact that she continued to make money through livestreaming without repaying him.

According to All-Nippon News Network, Takano also admitted to tipping Ms Sato approximately 100,000 yen (S$900) per month.

In addition, he had filed a lawsuit at a district court against her for the money she owed, which resulted in a court order for Ms Sato to pay.

Also read: ‘I’ll just wait for you to die’: Woman in Japan stabs rival influencer with scissors & watches him beg for life

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Featured image adapted from NEWSポストセブン and The Japan Times.