Man arrested after Ishikawa woman’s body found in forest

Kanazawa, Ishikawa Pref. – The body of a woman was found in a forest in Ishikawa Prefecture following a statement by a man who was arrested for allegedly confining her.

The Ishikawa Prefectural Police arrested the man, Takashi Utsunomiya, 49, from the city of Hiroshima by Sunday. He is suspected of confining the woman, a 26-year-old resident of the Ishikawa city of Nonoichi, in a car and taking her from Nonoichi to Komatsu against her will from around 5:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 30.

Utsunomiya told the police that he killed the woman, Saya Nakada, and left her body in a mountainous area. Investigators found the body in a forest in the city of Awara in Fukui Prefecture, which borders Ishikawa, on Saturday.

Based on his statement, the Ishikawa police department will continue investigating the case and will consider murder charges.

The victim was employed at a restaurant and was believed to be dating Utsunomiya.

An autopsy determined that Nakada died of acute suffocation, indicating she was strangled or smothered, and that about a week had passed when her body was discovered.

Nakada consulted the Ishikawa police department in July, saying that she wanted to break off her relationship with Utsunomiya.

On Thursday, her parents reported to the police that they were unable to contact their daughter.

Utsunomiya emerged as a suspect partly from analysis of security camera footage. He was detained in the city of Hiroshima on Friday.

Utsunomiya told police that he put Nakada in the car but that he did not force her to get in the vehicle, according to investigative sources.