Tokyo police investigating the slaying of Lucie Blackman on Friday searched three condominiums in Osaka linked with the man accused of killing the 21-year-old Briton in July.

The searches, covering a condo that had not previously been raided, were aimed at trying to locate objects, including an electrical saw, that the suspect, Joji Obara, used to dismember Blackman's body in early July, police alleged.

Police served an arrest warrant April 6 on the 48-year-old Tokyo businessman on suspicion of fatally drugging Blackman, raping her and dismembering and dumping her body.

Obara has been under arrest since October on suspicion of raping other women.

Police believe Obara took Blackman to his condo in Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture, in July just before she disappeared. They are still trying to establish exactly where she died and other details of the case.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office is expected to decide later this month whether to indict him in the Blackman case.

They have already indicted Obara in six other rape cases, including one in which an Australian woman died.

Hearings for five of the six cases have begun before the Tokyo District Court. Obara has pleaded not guilty to all charges.