04/04/2007
Lindsay Ann Hawker was young, out to see the world and by all accounts beautiful. Now, the man who lived at the apartment where her battered and strangled body was found in a sand-filled bathtub remains on the run.
Tatsuya Ichihashi, 28, has been wanted by police since he fled from several officers who arrived at his apartment in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, in search of the missing 22-year-old British teacher.
The TV shows repeatedly showed the apartment with the bathtub sitting on the balcony and speculated what routes Ichihashi, who lost his shoes during his flight from the law, might have taken.
His mug shot and description were repeatedly aired.
The shows also delved into his background and interviewed his former classmates and acquaintances. Ichihashi was captain of a junior high school basketball team and headed a student body in Gifu Prefecture. Eerily, he wrote in an essay that he liked being a peeping tom.
Some remembered Ichihashi as having a quick temper.
Hawker's father, Bill Hawker, held a news conference after his arrival in Japan.
"My daughter didn't come here to be murdered. She came here to help people, she came here to teach," he said. "My daughter was a lovely girl. She would have helped anybody. And it's because she would have helped anybody that she is where she is now."
The father said the family thought Japan would be a safe place for Lindsay to visit.
The TV programs also showed the victim's two sisters talking to reporters in England. The British media are following this case closely.
The incident reminded viewers of another British woman, Lucie Blackman, 21, a former flight attendant, who was working at a nightclub in Tokyo when she went missing in 2000.
Police found her remains the following year in a beachside cave in Kanagawa Prefecture. Joji Obara has been accused of raping and fatally drugging her.
At that time, Japan's safety was also put in doubt.
--The Asahi Shimbun
WHAT WAS ON THE TUBE (MARCH 26-30)
The following are the lengths of time six "wide shows" on four channels in the Tokyo area devoted to certain topics. The programs cover everything from politics to celebrity gossip. The listing is provided by Reservia Corp. http://www.reservia.co.jp/
1. A magnitude 6.9 earthquake strikes the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture and surrounding regions. A funeral was held for Kiyomi Miyakoshi, the only fatality in the temblor, amid frequent aftershocks and the misery of the more than 1,000 evacuated to shelters. Roads remain damaged and blocked, while TV shows offer footage of the houses that collapsed. 5 hr, 1 min
2. Hitoshi Ueki, a comedian who gained wide popularity in the 1960s, dies of respiratory failure at a Tokyo hospital at the age of 80. Ueki rose to stardom as member of the Crazy Cats, a comedy troupe led by Hana Hajime, and was also known for his songs, including "Sudara Bushi," with the lyrics, "I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I can't help it." 3 hr, 49 min, 38 sec
3. A British woman's body is found in a sand-filled bathtub on the balcony of an apartment in Chiba Prefecture. The man who lived there escapes when police officers arrived to look for the missing English teacher. Tatsuya Ichihashi was put on the wanted list. 3 hr, 33 min, 32 sec
4. Asian skaters dazzle the audience at the exhibition performance of the World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo. Miki Ando, 19, winner of the women's gold, skates to a live singing performance and later attempts a quadruple jump, but fails to land it. Still, her smile remains. Mao Asada took the silver and South Korean Kim Yu Na the bronze. 1 hr, 21 min, 1 sec
5. The Tokyo Midtown complex opens at the former site of the Defense Agency in Roppongi. The 10-hectare complex comprises six buildings that house offices, shops, restaurants and a museum. The Ritz Carlton operates on the top floors of the Midtown Tower. That's just what the nation's capital needs. More concrete buildings. 1 hr, 14 min, 35 sec
6. Kyogen performer Izumi Motoya and his scandal-ridden mother, Setsuko, talk to reporters at Haneda Airport on their way to a performance on Ishigakijima island. Setsuko denies reports that fees for the use of a hall on the island have yet to be paid. She also denies other reports, such as accusations she hid income and failed to pay rent. 56 min, 12 sec
7. Yuka Maeda, 43, is arrested over the stabbing death of a female friend, Yuko Suzuki, then 39, in an apartment in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward in March 2005. Maeda had been on the run for two years and used more than 10 aliases. She had been staying with people she met at a public bath- health center in Tokyo, where she was eventually arrested. 51 min, 45 sec
8. Miyazaki Governor Hideo Higashikokubaru is hospitalized for influenza. The busy governor, now a fixture on the wide shows since winning the post in January, falls ill after attending the award ceremony of the Spring Grand Sumo tournament, and cheering for the baseball team of his high school in Miyakonojo that played in a tournament. 41 min, 21 sec
9. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visit the old city of Kawagoe with visiting Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, and also attend a banquet. The imperial couple takes a rest in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, where they are joined by the family of their second son, Prince Fumihito. Fumihito's son, Prince Hisahito, laughs out loud before the cameras. 34 min, 31 sec
10. Police find human bones in the water at a port in Aioi, Hyogo Prefecture. The discovery was based on testimony by a man on trial for the murder of two women, who said he dumped parts of the victims' bodies at the site in question. Bones had been found in 2005 from a port in Himeji in the same prefecture. The same suspect's words had also led police to that port. 32 min, 19 sec
(IHT/Asahi: April 4,2007)
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