Man arrested in Kobe stabbing had been staying at hotel near victim’s home
- Hge News
- Aug 24
- 2 min read
A 35-year-old man who was arrested Friday in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 24-year-old woman in Kobe had been staying at a hotel near the victim’s apartment for several days prior to the incident, according to media reports.
Masashi Tanimoto, a company employee from Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, was taken into custody on suspicion of stabbing Megumi Katayama multiple times in the chest and other areas with a knife at her apartment in Kobe on Wednesday.
He was sent to prosecutors Sunday morning.
Tanimoto had taken leave from work starting Aug. 17, three days before the attack, and is believed to have arrived in Kobe around that time.
Surveillance footage from a nearby train station shows a man resembling Tanimoto passing through the ticket gate shortly after Katayama. Investigators believe he took the same train as the victim and followed her for over 10 minutes from the station to her apartment building, just before the fatal attack occurred.
Katayama, who worked in Kobe, left her office around 6:30 p.m., approximately 50 minutes before she was killed, and was heading home after stopping by a post office.
During police questioning, Tanimoto reportedly admitted to stabbing Katayama, stating, “I’m not sure if I had the intent to kill, but there’s no doubt I stabbed her with a knife.”
However, investigators say he has not made any statements suggesting he knew the victim personally.
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, Tanimoto is employed by a transportation company based in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward and lives in a company dormitory in the Takadanobaba area.
He previously lived in Kobe, and in May 2022 he was arrested by Hyogo Prefectural Police on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly injuring another woman in her 20s by strangling her at an apartment in the city.
He was later indicted by the Kobe District Public Prosecutors Office on charges including assault.
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