Police arrest a 40-year-old man after storming an internet cafe in Saitama on June 18, peacefully resolving a 33-hour hostage standoff. (Video footage by Ryo Kato)

Photo/Illutration Police escort the suspected hostage-taker from an internet cafe in Omiya Ward of Saitama city on June 18. (Ryo Kato)

SAITAMA--Prefectural police here resolved a 33-hour hostage standoff at an internet cafe without incident late June 18 by storming the premises and rescuing the female employee unharmed.

The suspect, Kazutaka Hayashi, 40, was arrested around 10:30 p.m. on suspicion of illegal confinement. His motive for taking the young woman hostage remained unknown.

Police said they allowed the standoff to drag on because they placed highest priority on rescuing the woman safely.

Police said the victim was in her 20s and had been confined in a booth. She was taken into police protection.

After Hayashi stopped responding to intercom exchanges from about 8 p.m. on June 18, police assumed he had fallen asleep and broke into the booth to make the arrest and free the victim.

Police said Hayashi did not resist arrest and admitted to confining the woman. His left hand was bloodied.

There were no signs she had been bound.

Hayashi entered the internet cafe around 10 a.m. on June 17. The female employee went to the booth Hayashi was using at about 2 p.m. the same day but failed to return after about two hours, prompting another employee to call the police and explain that the colleague was not responding.

Hayashi threatened to hurt his hostage if police tried to force their way into the booth, but he made no ransom or other demands.

The booth occupied a space of about three square meters. It had no lock or windows and was also soundproof.

There were also no cameras in the booth to confirm what was happening inside. Staff tried to use a master key to enter the booth, but were unable to open the door. 

Police said Hayashi apparently stuffed the keyhole with some sort of material to prevent the key from fully entering.

While the air conditioning remained on throughout the ordeal, the booth had no toilet. Both Hayashi and his hostage apparently did not use a restroom in all that time.

Police provided food and drinks around noon on June 18, which Hayashi accepted.

Police communicated with Hayashi and the woman through an intercom. The woman only gave short “yes” or “no” responses to questions from police, investigative sources said.

The internet cafe is located on the seventh floor of a commercial building about 200 meters from Omiya Station. Police blocked off motor and pedestrian traffic around the building from the afternoon of June 17.