Ishikawa corpse identified, yakuza involvement suspected

ISHIKAWA (TR) – In a case believed to involve organized crime, Ishikawa Prefectural Police on Saturday confirmed the identity of a corpse discovered the day before in Hakusan City, reports the Sankei Shimbun (April 4).

At approximately 6:00 p.m. on Friday, the body of a middle-aged male, wrapped in a blue tarp, was found inside a van parked inside a factory building in the Hashizumemachi area.

Officers from the Hakusan Police Station identified the body as that of Ryu Minakami, 38, a resident of Toyama Prefecture’s Toyama City.

Minakami had received blows to the head and and stab wounds in the back. Police believe he died early on Saturday morning from a subarachnoid hemorrhage and a substantial loss of blood.

On Thursday at 11:20 p.m., police received an emergency call about a van being used to possibly kidnap a passenger of a taxi on a road in Bunyudomachi, approximately three kilometers away from where Minakami’s body was discovered.

Officers arriving at the scene discovered a bloodstain that indicated a person had been dragged along the pavement. With the description of the vehicle matching that of the van in the warehouse, police now believe that person was Minakami.

According to Hokkaido Shimbun (April 5), police have confirmed that Minakami had ties to organized crime. Investigators are now attempting to determine whether the victim was engaged in any kind of dispute.