Photo/Illutration The general area of the Tamagawa river where the suitcase containing the body was found (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A woman arrested in connection with the discovery of a body in a suitcase told police she had rows with the victim, her former boyfriend, over the content of videos he streamed online, investigative sources said.

Tadayuki Hara sometimes criticized his ex-girlfriend, Mai Nishitaka, and her family members in the videos he posted, the sources quoted the suspect as saying. His body was found in a suitcase along the Tamagawa river in December.

Nishitaka, 32, was arrested along with her parents, brother and current boyfriend on suspicion of abandoning Hara’s body in Tokyo’s Ota Ward.

While her mother has denied any wrongdoing, Nishitaka and the other three admitted to abandoning Hara’s body, the sources said.

The four suspects also indicated they were involved in Hara’s death, they said. Police said they believe he was strangled.

Nishitaka told Kanagawa prefectural police that she also had trouble over money with Hara, who was 46 and unemployed, the sources said.

The suitcase, attached with a weight, was found downstream in the city of Kawasaki on the opposite bank of the river. Hara’s arms and legs were bound, and he was fully clothed.

Hara began distributing videos under the name of Yuiga about 10 years ago and earned money by criticizing people with views he took issue with, and speaking about his philosophy, according to investigators and other sources.

He was arrested last September on suspicion of using abusive language against Nishitaka while he was visiting Nagoya for a video he was taking.

A senior investigator said Hara’s career in video streaming forced police to focus on security camera footage and other objective evidence.

Many people posted all sorts of theories about Hara’s disappearance on video-sharing sites. Some accused innocent people of involvement, police said.

At least one individual used a smartphone to live stream from near a police station.

Another offered to provide information about the incident to police and live streamed exchanges with an investigator.

The prefectural police stopped interviewing video streamers and other people who knew Hara for fear the culprits would learn about progress in the investigation from the postings.

“We adopted an extremely unorthodox approach (in the investigation), but anyone can disseminate information today,” the senior investigator said. “Similar situations are bound to arise in the future.”

(This article was written by Miho Kato, Shuhei Nakajima and Arisa Inaba.)

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