The police are searching for clues after a man's decapitated body was found in a Japanese love hotel
BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP via Getty Images
- A man's headless body was found in the bathroom of a love hotel in Japan.
- Police identified the body as Hitoshi Ura, a 64-year-old man from Sapporo, a city in northern Japan.
- While deaths in Japan's love hotels are rare, previous incidents have been reported.
A man's headless body was found in a love hotel in Japan. He was last seen alive while entering the building with a person dressed in women's clothing.
The man, identified by police as Hitoshi Ura, was found dead in a love hotel on July 2, according to local newspaper The Japan Times. The incident occurred in Sapporo, on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
On Sunday, near the love hotel, police officers approached pedestrians in search of evidence that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrator, according to the Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun.
Ura, 64, was seen entering the hotel with another person at 10:50 p.m. on July 1, the receptionist told police, according to The Asahi Shimbun.
Some three hours later, the receptionist was told that the person would be leaving the hotel first and that Ura would be left alone in the room, per The Asahi Shimbun. The report did not state if Ura was the one who informed the receptionist.
The following day, police found Ura naked in the bathroom of a guest room, where he was said to have been decapitated, The Japan Times reported, citing investigators. Police said the cause of death was hemorrhagic shock, per the report.
According to The Asahi Shimbun, the person who accompanied Ura into the love hotel was small in size. The person was seen wearing a wide-brimmed black hat, dark clothing, and carrying a large suitcase.
Police noted that Ura's cell phone and personal belongings were missing, per the report. On July 4, his car was found in a parking lot.
"The investigation is progressing. We are trying to gather as much information as possible in the hope it will lead to the arrest of the perpetrator," said Daiki Kanamori, a detective with the Sapporo Chuo Police Station, per The Asahi Shimbun.
Love hotels in Japan typically feature themed rooms and charge hourly rates. They are often used by couples looking for a discreet place to meet for sexual encounters.
Some 4,900 love hotels currently operate in Japan, per Statista. These hotels do not require guests who live in Japan to provide identification when checking in, according to the news agency Kyodo News.
Deaths in love hotels in Japan are rare — but previous incidents have been reported. In 2021, a man and woman were found dead in a love hotel in Tokyo. Police reported the woman, who was in her 30s, had killed the man, who was in his 20s. She then killed herself.
In 2018, a 46-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl were found dead in a love hotel in Saitama, just outside of Tokyo. Police said they killed themselves.
The Japan National Police did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.