Japanese former child actor arrested as suspect over burnt corpses found outside Tokyo

Japanese former child actor Kirato Wakayama was one of two men arrested in Japan on Wednesday (May 1) over the burnt remains of a restaurateur and his wife found on April 16.

Ryutaro Takarajima, 55, and his 56-year-old wife Sachiko were found on a riverbed in the town of Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, near Tokyo. They had plastic bags over their heads and their limbs were bound, and their cause of death has been ruled as strangulation.

Kirato, 20, is best known for his roles in the live-action adaptations of anime Kiki's Delivery Service (2014) and Laughing Under the Clouds (2018). He also acted in an episode of Kamen Rider Wizard (2012) and historical drama Gunshi Kanbei (2014) before retiring from acting in 2018.

Kirato was arrested alongside South Korean national Kang Kwang-ki, 20, on suspicion of damaging the corpses. According to Japanese daily The Mainichi, they allegedly conspired with two other suspects Ryoken Hirayama, 25, and Hikaru Sasaki, 28, who were arrested previously, to burn the bodies.

Police did not disclose whether Kang and Kirato had admitted to the allegations, and the suspects have not been charged with murder, though investigations are ongoing.

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Kirato and Kang are suspected of assaulting the Takarajimas on the night of April 15 in an abandoned house in Tokyo before borrowing Hirayama's car to transport the victims to Tochigi prefecture.

Hirayama, who was arrested on April 21, claimed that he was following Sasaki's instructions and asked Kirato and Kang, whom he had met in late 2023 or early 2024, to dispose of the bodies.

Japan Times reported that Hirayama allegedly received more than 10 million yen (S$87,000) in compensation on the morning of April 16, which he distributed among Kirato and Kang. Police have seized nearly the full amount from a location related to the two latter suspects.

Sasaki, who was arrested on April 29, claimed he received instructions to dispose of the bodies from another unnamed person and has not received any compensation for it himself.

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drimac@asiaone.com