YouTuber stabbed to death as she livestreamed on Tokyo street

Police in Japan said Friday that they had arrested a suspect in the fatal stabbing of a YouTuber while she was livestreaming on a downtown Tokyo street.

Tokyo metropolitan police said they had arrested Kenji Takano, 42, on the spot on suspicion of attempted murder Tuesday. He has since been sent to the prosecutors but has not been charged yet.

The victim, Airi Sato, 22, was rushed to a hospital with critical injuries after the attacker stabbed her repeatedly in her upper body, police said, and was later pronounced dead.

Witnesses and livestream viewers said that they heard her screaming for help, and the stream suddenly went black. Kyodo News reported that a witness said she saw a man wearing a black hat and mask attacking woman at the scene, and after she fell down, he held a smartphone toward her.  The New York Times reported that following the attack, Sato’s followers posted messages, including “Where did she go?” and “Someone help!”

The suspect told police that he got to know Sato through her livestreaming and had seen her in person a number of times, and that they had a financial dispute, according to media reports, including the Asahi newspaper. Kyodo News, citing police, reported that it is believed that he began lending her money around 2022.

According to Kyodo News, Sato was attacked while livestreaming on an app called WhoWatch and walking alone  near the Takadanobaba train station in Shinjuku Ward.

Broadcast NHK reported that Takano had lent Sato a large sum of money and that she did not pay him back despite a court order to do so.

Takano traveled from the Oyama city, about 60 miles north of Tokyo, to carry out the attack after Sato announced the livestream and tracked down her location by watching the footage, media reports said, quoting police.

He told police he did not intend to kill her.

Violent crimes are still rare in Japan, where gun control is extremely strict, but there have been a number of high profile knife attacks and others using handmade guns in recent years amid a bleak wage and employment outlook.