Japanese police searching for the missing British nightclub hostess, Ms Lucy Blackman (22), dug up the remains of a dismembered body at a tiny sea cove about 45 km south-west of Tokyo yesterday. A torso, head and other body parts were found buried just a couple of hundred metres away from an apartment owned by Mr Joji Obara (48), the chief suspect in the disappearance.
Although police say it will take some time to identify the body, local media reports are speculating that the blue body bag carried from the scene holds the remains of Ms Blackman.
Mr Obara, a wealthy property owner with a reputation for odd behaviour, has been in police custody since October, three months after Ms Blackman went missing. He is denying charges of drugging and sexually assaulting six other Japanese and foreign women. Mr Obara has not been charged yet in connection with Ms Blackman's disappearance, although investigators said they found strands of her hair at one of his apartments.
Ms Blackman has not been seen since July 1st when she told a friend she was going for a drive with a night-club customer who had apparently offered to buy her a mobile phone.
In a recent letter released through his lawyer, Mr Obara admitted meeting Ms Blackman once at her club, but denied any involvement in her disappearance.
Ms Blackman came to Japan last May and worked illegally in Tokyo's Roppongi, a popular entertainment district. Many overseas women, including a large number of British and Australians, come to Japan on tourist visas and work in hostess bars, where they can earn from 3,000 yen (£22) an hour to pour drinks for customers and to talk with them. Although often presumed to be a variety of prostitution, working as a hostess does not generally involve sleeping with customers.