British Man Arrested for Murder in Yokohama

On Friday, the Japanese press reported that a Japanese woman had been found dead in an apartment she shared with her British boyfriend. He has since been arrested for strangling her, and his face and name are being shown all over the news:

A British national was arrested Saturday on suspicion of killing a woman living with him in Yokohama, local police said Sunday. Shimmin Paul Jason, 34, has denied the allegation that he strangled Shoko Kawanobe, 25, in her apartment early Thursday morning, police said. Jason called police Thursday night, saying Kawanobe was dead and that he did not know how she had died.

According to police investigators, Jason got to know Kawanobe in Britain and came to Japan with a short-term visa in May. He then returned to his country but came back again to Japan on Sept 3. Since then, he had been living with Kawanobe and a 1-year-old boy.

Personally, if I was looking to avoid being suspected as a criminal, I’d probably go with a hairstyle slightly more conservative than a mohawk…

Update: The Yomiuri Shinbun has more details…

According to Kanagawa prefectural police, Shimmin, 34, is suspected of suffocating Kawanobe, 25, early Thursday. No trace of anyone other than Shimmin entering or leaving the apartment was found, and specimens of the suspect’s DNA were detected on the victim’s body, the police said.

And so does the AFP:

The unemployed man from Northern Ireland allegedly choked Kawanobe last week before turning himself to police, said a spokesman for Kanagawa prefectural police.

Media reports said Shimmin denied killing her, saying he found her dead on her futon. After allegedly killing her, Shimmin left the apartment and went to get a mohawk haircut.