Overview

• Surveillance footage shows a man believed to be Tanimoto Masashi loitering near Katayama Megumi’s workplace on Aug. 19 and waiting outside again before her Aug. 20 departure.
• Investigators say the suspect followed her roughly 4 kilometers for about 50 minutes, slipped into the condominium before the door closed, and stabbed her in an elevator around 7:20 p.m.
• Cameras later captured a similar figure taking a taxi near his hotel around 7:50 p.m., then boarding a Shinkansen from Shin-Kobe toward Tokyo in the 8 p.m. hour.
• Records indicate he arrived in Kobe on Aug. 17 during summer leave, stayed at a hotel near her office, bought a round-trip Tokyo–Shin-Kobe ticket on July 26, and his employer says the company paid the fare.
• Tanimoto remains in custody on suspicion of murder, tells police he did not know the victim, and partially denies intent as investigators probe motive and possible premeditation across prefectures.