Wow, if it’s true that he got plastic surgery, the police need to do a serious clampdown on his parents. There’s no way someone on the run from the law could just magically create the money for an operation like that.

I don’t know what the police have done so far, but it seems like they could get a warrant and perform an audit of all the parent’s finances. If they were spending any money in suspicious ways, the police could probably close this case pretty quick.

I’m surprised that the parents’ asset hasn’t been frozen yet after all this time.

But seriously, how much can he change with plastic surgery?

If I were the cops, I would look into keep tabs with pharmacies in that area on who is buying some serious heavy painkillers. If the amount of surgery he had done on his face were to be able to drastically change his look so that people wouldn’t recognize him then he’s probably under some serious pain meds.

The police never even bothered to inform the family of this development:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/6498275/Parents-of-Lindsay-Ann-Hawker-dismayed-over-suspects-plastic-surgery.html

I sent an email to the families website as soon as I heard about this at 6:30AM,I had a feeling this would happen, absolutely disgusting.
So here`s a few questions I have,damn sure the family have more:

1] How did he get to Osaka with no shoes,bloody long walk !!!
2] Asuming his parents have been helping him financially,will they now be arrested.How can you get plastic surgery with no money and on the run ?
3] Who else is helping him ?
4] Is this plastic surgon blind,how the hell can you not recognise the most wanted man in Japan ?
5] So what does he look like now,seeing as the keystone cops photofit is out of date ?

I just cannot believe this,there should be some serious repercussions over this,but this being Japan I seriously doubt it.

Its a shame that the parents of this scum bag have never been shown in the media

http://news.goo.ne.jp/article/yomiuri/nation/20091104-567-OYT1T00675.html
市橋達也容疑者（３０）とみられる男が、名古屋市の美容整形外科で１０月２４日に鼻の手術を受けていたことが４日、捜査関係者への取材で分かった。
男は同２４日に鼻の整形手術を受け、術後治療にも来院。県警は、術前術後の写真の分析などから本人とほぼ断定した。
この男は、市橋容疑者の特徴とされた一重まぶたが二重になり、厚かった下唇も薄くなるなど、公開されている指名手配写真とは異なる顔つきで、新旧の整形手術の痕跡があった。手術費用は現金で支払ったという。男は同月末に抜糸の予約を入れていたが、姿を見せなかった。

“A man who is likely to be Ichihashi had a nose surgery at a cosmetic clinic in Nagoya on October 24.
The man had a nose surgery on 24th and came to the clinic once more after the surgery. The police is close to conclude, based on the photos before and after the surgery, that the man is Ichihashi.
The man had double-edged eyelids, unlike Ichihashi’s single-edged eyelids, and had thin lips, unlike his thick lips, differing from his police pictures. The man had traces of old and new surgeries. He paid the medical fees by cash. He had an appointment at the end of the month, but did not show up.”

Isn’t his father a doctor and his mother a dentist?

Plenty of money and connections to get plastic surgery.
Which it seems the police have basically ignored, or at least ingored just enough to let him stay free, but still be able to give some tidbits to the media as if they’re “ganbatte”-ing.

Let’s face it, the police just don’t seem to want to catch this guy. Is it nuts to assume bribe money isn’t just going to plastic surgeons?

The surgeon(s) involved should at the very least lose their licenses, and then go to jail.
An audit of the parents is definitely in order as well.

A half competent police force would have caught him already, but then again, a competent police forec also would never have let him walk away from the murder scene.

But hey, Japanese DO get a 1 gaijin limit. If this scum kills ANOTHER gaijin, THEN the police will take him seriously.

Arrest the parents and the plastic surgery clinic folks NOW. Quit f*cking around J-police (you’re all a disgrace to the badge).

What if this guy is actually someone else who looks like the killer, and who wants to be able to travel around without being mistaken for the killer? If you were in that situation, would you go through surgery to avoid troubles?
I agree though that his behaviour seems a bit suspicious.

The surgeon(s) involved should at the very least lose their licenses, and then go to jail.

That’s a bit harsh considering that the patient probably used a pseudonym if he really was Ichihashi. Surely they didn’t realize who they might have been delaing with until the surgery was over, and it looks like they’re cooperating with law enforcement just fine now that they know about the suspicion.

I’m pretty bothered by this. I can’t imagine her what parents are going through dealing with a police force that seems completely inept.

They can’t even get over their daughters death because new information is always being brought and they have to repeat the grief all over again.

All plastic surgery’s should be accompanied with a background check to ensure that these people aren’t just running from something. Changing your face isn’t a small deal.

In the end I believe nothing will happen. Another Issei Sagawa.

How could the police not have alerted the plastic surgery clinics to be well prepared for this creep coming asking for a face change? There can’t be that many clinics and surgeons who do this kind of operation. A simple phone call would have had him arrested.

This is either a total f*ck-up of J-police or somebody from behind is helping him get away. Total disgrace.

Well, there could be Yakuza owned plastic surgery clinics, it is in the realm of possibilitys.

Could Ichihashi be the guy who withdrew money from the ATM after a girl was murdered in Chiba? That could explain where he got the money for the surgery.

An update.

整形手術を受けた男、市橋容疑者とほぼ断定
http://www.news24.jp/articles/2009/11/05/07147189.html

Man who received plastic surgery, confirmed to be suspect Ichihashi with a high degree of confidence

　０７年に千葉・市川市でイギリス人女性の遺体が見つかった事件で、名古屋市で整形手術を受けた男の筆跡と指名手配されている市橋達也容疑者（３０）の筆跡が矛盾しないことがわかった。警察は手術を受けた男が市橋容疑者とほぼ断定し、行方を追っている。

　この事件は０７年、市川市のマンションでイギリス人の英会話講師のリンゼイ・アン・ホーカーさん（当時２２）が遺体で見つかったもので、警察は部屋に住んでいた市橋容疑者を死体遺棄の疑いで指名手配している。

　これまでの警察の調べで、先月２４日に市橋容疑者とみられる男が名古屋市の病院を訪れ、鼻を高くする手術を受けていたことがわかっている。警察によると、男は先月中旬に福岡県の病院も訪れ、整形手術の申し込みをして断られていた。男は問診の際の書類に大阪の住所や偽名を記入しており、福岡県の病院で記入した偽名と名古屋市の病院で記入した偽名は同じだったという。また、警察が男の筆跡を鑑定したところ、市橋容疑者の筆跡と矛盾しないことがわかった。

　警察は身体的特徴などもあわせ、男が市橋容疑者であるとほぼ断定して行方を追うとともに、近く整形手術後の写真を公開する方針。

In the case in 2007 where the British woman’s body was found in Ichikawa city , Chiba, it has been discovered that the handwriting of the man who received plastic surgery in Nagoya does not conflict with that of the wanted suspect Ichikawa (age 30). Police have decided the man who received the surgery was suspect Ichikawa, and are now investigating where he went.

In this incident in 2007, Lindsay Ann Hawker (age 22 at the time) was found dead in an apartment room in Ichikawa city, and suspect Ichikawa who lived in that room is wanted by police for allegations of abandonment of a corpse.

In police investigations so far, on the 24th of last month, a man likely to be suspect Ichikawa visited a hospital in Nagoya and received plastic surgery to heighten his nose. According to police, the man had visited a hospital in the Fukuoka prefecture in the middle of last month as well, and was declined a request for plastic surgery. The man had written down his Osaka address as well as a pseudonym in a questionnaire, and the pseudonym used in the hospitals at Fukuoka and Osaka are found to be identical. Also, when police investigated the handwriting of the man, it was found not to conflict with that of suspect Ichikawa.

In addition to physical appearances, the police have decided the man is suspect Ichikawa, and are investigating his whereabout, as well as planning to release photos after his surgery to the public soon.

The police just released a new “after surgery” photo of Tatsuya Ichihashi.

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/affairs/crime/091105/crm0911051950030-n1.htm

He’s even uglier than before.