Man Found Dead in Mikumarikyo Forest Park

Man Found Dead in Mikumarikyo Forest Park; Police Investigating Suspected Homicide

A man was found lying on the ground and bleeding in Mikumarikyo Forest Park in Fuchu over the weekend. He was transported to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Police received a 110 emergency call at around 10 p.m. on April 12 from someone in the park who reported hearing a person calling for help during what appeared to be an altercation.

When officers arrived, they found an adult male lying face-down and bleeding near the entrance to the park’s administration office. He was rushed to the hospital but did not survive.

An autopsy is being conducted. While no stab wounds were found on the body, police say a severe head injury is likely to have been the cause of death.

The case is being treated as a homicide. An 80-person investigative team is working to confirm the man’s identity. No ID or personal belongings were found at the scene, but are reviewing nearby security camera footage from around the area.

Residents are shocked and concerned. As a precaution, the town closed all seven elementary and junior high schools on April 14.

4/15/2025 Update
A post-mortem revealed that the cause of death was a traumatic head injury, and the police believe that the fatal injury was due to multiple blows to the head and face with a hard object, based on the presence of a skull fracture. The deceased man is believed to be middle-aged but is yet to be identified.

It has been deduced from evidence at the scene that the middle-aged victim, who is yet to be identified, may have traveled from Tokyo to Hiroshima just before the incident. Investigators also say a group of men and women were at the scene of the incident. They believe that they may have been involved, perhaps in a robbery resulted in murder.

6/22/2025 Update

According to RCC News, police have arrested three men and women aged between 16 and 18 on suspicion of robbery-murder.

Those arrested were an unemployed 18-year-old woman living in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, a 16-year-old boy living in Hiroshima Prefecture, and an 18-year-old man (both men are in full-time employment).

According to police reports, at around 10 p.m. on April 12th at Mikumarikyo Forest Park in Fuchu-cho, Hiroshima Prefecture, they are suspected of killing Makoto Satomi (52), an office worker living in Nerima-ku, Tokyo, by hitting him on the head with a blunt object, and stealing his smartphone and wallet containing approximately 50,000 yen in cash.

Police said that in addition to the victim, there were several other men and women at the scene, and they were investigating whether these people were involved in the incident.

6/24/2025 Update

Police have discovered the 18-year-old female suspect from Matsuyama in Ehime the 52-year-old male victim are believed to have met several years ago when the man was working in Matsuyama. Evidence has also emerged that she and the 16-year-old male co-accused were also in a relationship.

The victim is believed to have come to Hiroshima by Shinkansen to meet the woman on the day of the incident, and CCTV around the scene captured them stopping by a store near the scene, and then heading to the scene, followed by the 18 year old and 16 year old males who are also under arrest. Footage was also found of the three of them together after the incident.

Chugoku Shimbun reports that according to people acquainted with the boy, who lived with his grandfather, he was known as a bit of a troublemaker. After dropping out of high school in Hiroshima, he worked in a variety of construction jobs. He started working at his current job, in Aki District this spring, as part of the same company as the victim. It is reported that the boy and the woman met online and later started dating.

A statement made by the woman during voluntary questioning a few days after the murder, that the victim was was assaulted by two unknown men is being questioned now that it has been revealed that the woman and one of the two suspects were apparently in a relationship.

The boy is reported to have joked with friends online about being involved in the incident and posted on a social media site that he “might be about to be caught,” the night before handing himself in to police along with an 18-year-old man who works for the same company. The Ehime woman was arrested the following day.

NHK reports that police have not disclosed whether the three have admitted to the crimes and motive remains unclear.

Mikumarikyo Forest Park