Osaka police announced Wednesday that they have identified the remains of a dismembered body in a mountainous area of Higashiosaka on Jan. 25 as an official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
The deceased, 52-year-old Takamichi Kamioka, had been missing since late last year, prompting his family to file a missing persons report.
Prior to the body’s identification, police had arrested 28-year-old Hiroto Oki, an unemployed resident of Osaka’s Chuo Ward, Monday on suspicion of abandoning a corpse.
Oki, who lives in the same apartment building as the victim, admitted to the charges. Investigators believe he knows further details about the victim’s death and are considering additional charges, including murder.
Oki allegedly dumped the body around Dec. 28 near an abandoned house in the mountains. Surveillance footage captured him that night near Nukata Station on the Kintetsu Nara Line, the closest station to the crime scene.
Although the station is only about 650 meters from the disposal site, the area consists of steep slopes. Footage showed Oki climbing the mountain alone with a suitcase, which police suspect contained Kamioka’s remains.
Kamioka’s body was discovered on Jan. 25. His limbs and head had been separated from his torso. Police found his severed head in an abandoned apartment building in Shimanouchi, in Osaka's Chuo Ward on Monday. A forensic autopsy revealed the cause of death to be asphyxiation, and that the body was dismembered postmortem.
Although investigators initially identified Oki through surveillance and tracking his movements, they lost track of him in mid-January. Police located him in Wakayama Prefecture on Sunday and took him in for questioning, during which he admitted his involvement.
Kamioka was an accounting manager at the ministry’s Aeronautical Safety College in the city of Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture. He was last seen on Dec. 26 when he went to work. The following day, he worked remotely and notified his workplace of his shift’s completion around 3 p.m., although with no phone or video confirmation.
Kamioka was scheduled to travel overseas on Jan. 27 to meet his wife. However, on the afternoon of the 29th, she reported to a police station in Osaka that she had been unable to get in contact with him. Police searched Kamioka’s apartment on Saturday, and found it unoccupied, with luggage packed ready for his departure left there.
Kamioka had transferred to the aviation college in April 2022 from the ministry’s Civil Aviation Bureau.
Colleagues expressed shock at the news, describing him as "serious, cheerful, and meticulous in his work." A former coworker added, "He worked without issues and had a very gentle personality."
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