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Tokyo Police Probe Pokémon Center Killing Tied to Prior Stalking Arrest

The case tests the limits of Japan's anti-stalking measures after arrests, fines, then a ban failed to prevent the attack.

Overview

  • Security video from the Sunshine City store shows the ex-boyfriend rush the counter and stab clerk Mei Harukawa, then stab himself repeatedly until he collapsed in Thursday evening’s attack, and investigators say she suffered more than a dozen wounds.
  • Police identified the dead as Harukawa, 21, and her former boyfriend Daiki Hirokawa, 26, who split after he pressed her to quit the Pokémon Center job she had long wanted.
  • Harukawa reported stalking on December 25th after a message card and a Pokémon card were left at her door, and officers arrested Hirokawa nearby for violating the anti-stalking law.
  • Prosecutors used a summary process that led to fines and his January 30th release, and police had issued a no-contact order the day before, urged counseling that he refused, and asked his mother to keep watch.
  • After the release, Harukawa briefly stayed with relatives, returned to work, and told police in three check-ins through March 12 that nothing seemed wrong, and investigators now plan to refer the case to prosecutors with the suspect recorded as deceased.