KAWASAKI -- A bag containing a body of unknown gender and age has been found inside a house in this city's Kawasaki Ward, sparking an investigation into the abandonment of a corpse, Kanagawa Prefectural Police announced May 1.

According to sources close to the investigation, the body was discovered during a search of the home of a man in his 20s suspected of stalking. A 20-year-old woman who previously dated him and later complained of being stalked has been missing, and the prefectural police are investigating the link between the corpse and the missing woman.

According to investigative sources, officers from Kawasaki Rinko Police Station found what appeared to be a body inside a traveling bag during a search of the man's home on suspicion of violating the Anti-Stalking Act on the evening of April 30, and confirmed it to be a human corpse at the police station the following day. The police will conduct an autopsy May 2 to identify the body, which is partially skeletonized, as well as the cause of death.

According to the family of the missing woman, Asahi Okazaki, she had been complaining of being stalked by her ex-boyfriend, who lives in the home that was recently searched by police.

Okazaki went missing from her home on the morning of Dec. 20, 2024. A window at her home had been broken and unlocked. Upon noticing her absence, her family reported to the prefectural police on Dec. 22.

Her family told the Mainichi Shimbun, "At the time, the police told us that they were not sure if her disappearance was related to a crime." The family said Okazaki herself "had reported to police over and over again after the stalking had escalated since November 2024."

According to her 50-year-old father, Okazaki texted her mother via social media the day before she went missing, saying, "I might get killed." The father fumed, telling the Mainichi, "The police did nothing for us," while adding that the corpse "has not been identified as hers." Her teenage brother also told the Mainichi, "I hope the body is not my sister's."

A 19-year-old friend of the missing woman said she talked about trouble with her ex. "She told me that when they had an argument (at the man's home) and she told him that she was going home, she had her clothes stripped off and she couldn't leave." The friend recalled that when she visited Okazaki's home around last summer, the man abruptly showed up and banged on the door from the outside. Speaking of Okazaki, the 19-year-old said, "She was a friendly and cheerful person. I can't accept (what has happened)."

After Okazaki went missing, her family asked for information from the public on social media. On May 1, her family and others concerned visited the police station and asked for briefings from officers.

Regarding the authorities' response to Okazaki, an investigative source told the Mainichi, "The police station was responding each time, and at this point there has been no apparent lack of action, but I assume the prefectural police will closely examine the matter."

Meanwhile, a source close to the investigation has revealed to the Mainichi Shimbun that the man who lives in the house where the human corpse was found has been missing for about a month and possibly left the country. The police are looking into the man's whereabouts.

(Japanese original by Mayu Miyamoto, Natsuki Shimizu and Chika Yokomi, Yokohama Bureau)