It was no surprise to many who know the area that Tatsuya Ichihashi, facing charges of murdering British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker, has a connection with Osaka's Nishinari Ward.
Ichihashi, arrested in November after evading a nationwide manhunt since March 2007, found a construction job there and managed to remain undetected until he was finally apprehended at Osaka ferry terminal last month.
Nishinari is home to one of Japan's largest and most famous concentrations of day laborers, many of whom are homeless. It has long been a place where not only the country's most wanted criminals but also people simply down on their luck have flocked to find work ranging from day labor to prostitution.