Woman fatally stabbed in Tokyo while livestreaming
A 22-year-old woman died Tuesday after being stabbed on a street in downtown Tokyo, with a man arrested at the scene with two knives in his possession, police said.
Airi Sato was attacked around 9:50 a.m. while walking alone in the Takadanobaba district of Shinjuku Ward. She was livestreaming when the man assaulted her with a survival knife about 13 centimeters long.
Sato was reportedly stabbed multiple times in the neck and chest and was taken to a hospital, where she was later confirmed dead. The Metropolitan Police Department arrested 42-year-old Kenichi Takano, who is being investigated for allegedly committing murder.
Investigators from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department examine the site of a stabbing in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward on March 11, 2025. (Kyodo)
Investigative sources said Sato and Takano, who likely knew each other, had consulted police outside Tokyo over a financial dispute. Takano was quoted by the sources as saying, “There was trouble. The money I lent was not returned.”
Takano, who lives in Tochigi Prefecture, told investigators he went to Tokyo after seeing an announcement that Sato would livestream her journey on the capital’s circular Yamanote Line. He tracked her down by watching the feed, the Tokyo police said.
Takano, a resident of the prefecture around 100 kilometers from the center of Tokyo, was quoted by the police as saying he did not intend to kill Sato.
When Takano was apprehended, a blood-covered knife was found at his feet, the police said.
A man in his 50s who was in a nearby office at the time said he heard screams, including cries for help, lasting around 15 seconds. He said he then saw a woman lying on the street.
The suspect was standing near the victim and appeared calm, according to witnesses.
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