Man arrested over fatal stabbing of young woman in Shinjuku

Police arrested a 51-year-old man early Wednesday on suspicion of fatally stabbing a woman in her 20s in an apartment in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Officers received a call at 3:05 a.m. on Wednesday, reporting that a man was one-sidedly attacking a woman in a high-rise apartment in Nishi-Shinjuku in the ward, located about 1.3 kilometers northwest of Shinjuku Station.

Officers from the Shinjuku Police Station arrived to find a woman in her 20s on the ground, bleeding from multiple stab wounds.

Manabu Wakui, 51, whose employment status is unclear and who resides in Kawasaki, was found near the victim. He was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder.

The victim was later confirmed dead at the hospital. Police are now investigating the case as a murder.

Wakui confessed to the attack, telling police, “I stabbed her because I wanted to cover her in wounds.”

The victim, believed to be a resident of the building, suffered multiple stab wounds to her neck and stomach from a knife about 10 centimeters in length.

Authorities are working to confirm the woman’s identity and investigate her relationship with Wakui.

Translated by The Japan Times