Gen Sekine
Gen Sekine was a Japanese dog breeder and serial killer who, together with his common-law wife Hiroko Kazama, murdered at least four clients in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, between April and August 1993. Both were sentenced to death for their crimes, but Sekine died on death row prior to execution.
Early life and accomplices
Gen Sekine
Gen Sekine was born on 2 January 1942 in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture. After graduating high school, he worked at a pachinko parlor and later a Chinese restaurant in his hometown. One night, the restaurant burned down in a mysterious fire that also killed its owner; rumours persisted that Sekine had killed the owner and set the fire to cover his tracks, but this was never proven. When he was in his twenties, Sekine started breeding dogs, later earning celebrity status in the industry for popularizing the Alaskan Malamute breed in Japan. Some sources claim that Sekine was also responsible for popular interest in Siberian Huskies.Sekine originally ran a pet shop and animal leasing business in Chichibu. However, he gained notoriety for malicious business practices, often stealing dogs and selling them to customers, or killing the customer's dog and selling them an entirely new one. Local residents also complained that he looked after dangerous animals such as tigers and lions. Due to growing tensions with local yakuza, Sekine temporarily moved to Itō, Shizuoka Prefecture. He returned to Saitama Prefecture in 1982 and opened the "Africa Kennel" in Kumagaya.
Sekine was adept at predicting human behavior, and many were thus drawn to his unique humor and speaking skills. On the other hand, many of Sekine's peers avoided involving themselves too deeply with him due to his business practices, propensity to threaten customers and his friendship with local yakuza. In addition, Sekine was a pathological liar who made many boastful claims to not only acquaintances and customers, but also to media interviewers with the aim of advertising his store. One such lie concerned his missing pinky finger, which he claimed had been bitten off by a lion in Africa; in reality, it had been cut off by members of the yakuza for failing to pay debts.
According to accomplice Eikō Yamazaki, Sekine followed a set of five rules which he called his "murder philosophy":
- 1. Kill those who are not good for the world
- 2. Do not kill for insurance purposes, as you will get caught
- 3. Kill the greedy
- 4. It is important not to shed blood
- 5. The most important thing is to make the body disappear
Hiroko Kazama
Hiroko Kazama was born on February 19, 1957, in Kumagaya. She was raised by her father, a childcare worker and later a real estate agent. A quiet but strong woman who loved big dogs, Kazama was studying to work as a land surveyor to help her father financially. In 1983, she visited the Africa Kennel where she met Sekine, and the pair married not long after.Both partners had been previously married, so in order to show her devotion for him, Kazama carved a dragon tattoo on her back as a sign of their unity, as opposed to his previous wives, who had tattooed his name. Some theories suggest that Sekine had married Kazama due to her rich father's inheritance, while others suggest it was for her ability to present herself at dog shows and manage the kennel's finances. While both spouses engaged in infidelity, prompted by Sekine physically abusing Kazama and her children, they nevertheless supported each other in overseeing their business.
In order to prevent Sekine from wasting money, Kazama faked their divorce and started living as his common-law wife, which allowed for her to be appointed the president of the Africa Kennel. While on the surface it appeared to be a joint-stock agreement, the actual management was supervised by Sekine, while Kazama dealt exclusively with the finances.
Eikō Yamazaki
Eikō Yamazaki was born in Toyama Prefecture in January 1956. A bulldog breeder living out of a remodeled freight car in Katashina, Gunma Prefecture, he first heard of Sekine after seeing him participate in a dog show. When he visited the Africa Kennel to learn about Sekine's management philosophy, he was unexpectedly invited to work there as an executive. However, in reality, Yamazaki became Sekine's driver and unwilling accomplice.Murders
Sekine's modus operandi consisted of dismembering the victims' corpses, which he called "making the body disappear." All four of his known victims were dismembered in Yamazaki's bathroom, and their bones, skin, tissues and internal organs were cut down to several centimeters. The bones were then incinerated in drums, along with clothing and personal items, the ashes of which were then disposed in forests and rivers. Sekine also devised to burn the body themselves, but as he knew it would generate an unpleasant and easily noticeable odor, he burned them until only the bones were left, then checked to make sure that there was no leftover flesh. When conducting this procedure, Yamazaki claimed that Sekine found it "interesting and fun."Akio Kawasaki
Akio Kawasaki, a 39-year-old executive of an industrial waste treatment company in Gyōda, befriended Sekine after visiting the Africa Kennel to buy a dog. At the time, Kawasaki was inclined by his brother to expand his business ventures into dog breeding, and so purchased two Rhodesian Ridgebacks for ¥11 million. However, Kawasaki was later informed by an acquaintance that the market price for such dogs was much lower, and that both dogs were too old and unsuited for breeding. The female dog later escaped, rendering breeding impossible, causing an angered Kawasaki to return the male dog and ask for a refund. At the time, the Africa Kennel was in dire financial straits, prompting Sekine and Kazama to kill Kawasaki to avoid giving the money back.On the evening of 20 April 1993, Kawasaki was invited to chat with Sekine in his station wagon, where he was served a drink laced with cyanide and was killed instantly. When Yamazaki returned to the garage, Sekine showed him the body and threatened to kill him if he ratted him out. He then started dismembering Kawasaki's body, ordering Yamazaki to dispose of his car in Tokyo with Kazama's help. The scene was staged to make it look as if the executive had disappeared, with the accomplices making sure that the car's numberplate was recorded on the ANPR.
After parting with Kazama in Kumagaya, Yamazaki returned to his domicile in Katashina. The next morning, Sekine presented him with drums containing Kawasaki's charred remains and belongings to be disposed of. As demanded, Yamazaki disposed of the body parts in the Usune River in Kawaba and of the burnt bones, ashes and personal items in Oze National Park.
Yasutoshi Endo and Susumu Wakui
Yasutoshi Endo was the leader of a criminal group affiliated with the Inagawa-kai yakuza clan, who acted as a supervisor of Sekine and was also a customer of the Africa Kennel. Suspecting Sekine's role in Kawasaki's disappearance, Endo began to extort him for a large amount of money. Eventually Sekine and Kazama, worried that these demands would jeopardize plans to expand their business, decided to eliminate Endo and his chauffeur, Susumu Wakui, the latter of whom had no prior interactions with the couple.On the night of 21 July 1993, Sekine, Kazama and Yamazaki drove to a location designated by Endo. Sekina and Kazama left the car to meet Endo, while Yamazaki stayed inside. The couple pretended to comply with the gangster's demands and handed over a resignation certificate, and supplied drinks laced with strychnine to both Endo and Wakui. Endo collapsed shortly afterwards, but Wakui somehow resisted the effects of the poison. Sekine and Kazama told him to call an ambulance to save time, letting him run around the area searching for help. After that, the couple got into the car, put Wakui on the front seat and let Yamazaki leave on the pretext of looking after Endo. While driving on a deserted road along the Arakawa embankment, Wakui began convulsing violently, enough to crack the car's windshield, before dying.
After returning to pick up Endo's body, the trio took two cars and drove towards Katashina in separate directions. The men's bodies were dismembered in Yamazaki's bathroom, with Yamazaki sharpening the knives while Sekine and Kazama performing the dismemberment. Yamazaki later claimed that Sekine had threatened to dispose of him in the same manner if he told anyone, while Kazama hummed enka songs. After the couple finished the dismemberment, Kazama returned to Kumagaya while Sekine and Yamazaki were left behind to incinerate the bones and clothing. The remains and ashes were then thrown into the Usune, Nuri and Katashina rivers.
Mitsue Sekiguchi
Mitsue Sekiguchi, a housewife from Gyōda, began an affair with Sekine when her second son started working at the Africa Kennel. However, because the store was having financial difficulties due to Endo's extortion and the construction of a new kennel, Sekine pleaded with Sekiguchi to become a shareholder of the business. Sekine initially planned to only steal the money, but realized that the shareholder lie would be revealed eventually; if that happened, not only would the investments have to be returned, but the money paid for six Alaskan Malamutes, amounting to ¥9 million. This, coupled with the fact that he was becoming annoyed with Sekiguchi, prompted Sekine to kill her.On the afternoon of 26 August 1993, while driving around Gyōda, Sekine killed Sekiguchi with strychnine and proceeded to steal ¥2.7 million from her. According to Yamazaki, Sekine dismembered her remains like his previous victims, but unlike them he committed sexual acts on the corpse before doing so. Early next morning, Sekiguchi's burned remains were thrown in the Nuri River.
Sekine is believed to have committed this murder entirely of his own accord, as nothing indicated Yamazaki knew the victim prior to her death. There were suspicions that Kazama might have been involved, but as all evidence to this theory is circumstantial, she was not charged with the killing.