Lucie Blackman, 21 years old, had entered Japan as a tourist with her best friend, Louise Phillips. The two of them went to Tokyo to work off the debts that had become such a burden to Lucie. They were working as a hostess in a small nightclub because they could make money easily. One day, Lucie had gone out for a meeting with a man and never came back. After a while, the case was upgraded from a missing person inquiry to a criminal investigation.
After 23 days, Japanese authorities arrested Joji Obara, a Tokyo businessman who could have been involved in the disappearance of other foreign women. This is an absurd true-crime story about a serial rapist, manipulator, psychopath and evil man who, in the end, had no connection with the disappearance and dismemberment of Lucie. This is well written by RLP about his first-hand experiences as correspondence for a British newspaper, living in Tokyo. This story is full of heartaches and lies. And makes you question the failure of law and order.
Obara received a life sentence in prison for 30 years and is unlikely to walk free before 2030. How was that? I personally support the death penalty because I don't see why the government should be spending for their staycation after they have committed such filthy crimes.