Japan offers US$200k for help in solving notorious Setagaya murders – 20 years on
- The Miyazawa family were slaughtered in their home on New Year’s Eve in a case that shocked the nation
- Despite the killer leaving a host of clues, including fingerprints, DNA, clothing and even distinctive grains of sand, nobody has ever been arrested
Over the weekend, police began handing out fliers depicting an ordinary-looking family home in the Setagaya district of the city, along with an image of a person wearing dark-coloured trousers, a down jacket, gloves, a scarf, hat and distinctive trainers. An accompanying description of the man indicates he is around 170cm tall.
The flier also includes details of the 20 million yen (US$192,288) reward for the man, the only suspect in the killing of a family of four in their house as they prepared to celebrate the arrival of New Year on December 31, 2000.
With violent crime a rarity in Japan and a home invasion and the killing of an entire family almost unheard of, a case that is widely known as the Setagaya murders has become infamous – in part because despite all the evidence, the police have never been able to identify or arrest the perpetrator.
“That case really shocked Japan,” said Shinichi Ishizuka, a professor of law and director of the Criminology Research Centre at Kyoto’s Ryukoku University.