Mika Kobayashi was 24 and bicycling home from work on a western Tokyo street on Aug. 31, 2000, when a young man drove up and asked for directions. To see his map, she dismounted and leaned in toward the driver's seat.
The next she knew, another man was standing behind her holding the purse she had left on her bike. Realizing she had been ambushed but desperate to recover the purse, she chased after the man, who quickly got into the back seat of the car and dragged her inside.
The man then blindfolded Kobayashi with a towel, mounted her and threatened to kill her with a box cutter if she didn't stop screaming. Terrorized, she froze, unable to resist.