CASE CRACKED: Glico-Morinaga
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Sunday, March 18th, 1984. Hyogo Prefecture, Ashiya City, in one of the top luxury residential areas in Japan lives 42 year old Katsuhisa Ezaki, president of Japanese food company, Ezaki Glico, maker of the widely popular treat, Pocky.
In the quiet area 300 meters north of the Japan Railway Koshienguchi station in Nishinomiya city, up a winding slope that rises to a small hill is the site of the 650 square meter Ezaki residence. Lit by the light of a mercury lamp it is surrounded on all 4 sides, by an 11 foot high brick wall, with iron doors.
The property includes the home of Katsuhisa's 70 year old mother, Yoshie, and his own two-story, Western-style mansion. Which he shares with his wife Mikieko, 35 years old, and their three young children.
Following completion of their newly built house just over a year prior, the contruction supervisor gave two keys to the Ezaki family on December 11th, 1982.
Katsuhisa kept one key in his own home, used only by himself, Mikieko, and a maid.
Installed in his home was a high tech Secom Security System monitoring all windows and doors.
The second key to Katsuhisa Ezaki's residence went to his mother, next door. This home had no alarm system installed.
On the night of March 18th, rain fell on 2 masked men as they scaled the brick wall with the use of a stepladder that was left in front, against a high hedge on the east side of the property.
In the road to the north, a third masked man drives slowly, in a red 2-door car, awaiting the return of his partners in crime.
Through the garden, the men, who are carrying a rifle and a handgun, approach the front of the home of the elderly mother, Yoshie, who is located in her living room, in the rear of the home, watching the television show, Shin Yumechiyo Nikki.
Gum tape was applied the glass pane of the front door. A torch was used to break the pane with heat, allowing for it to be pushed in silently. The telephone line was then cut with a knife.
Having tied Yoshie up with the phones cord, and silencing her with a piece of tape over her mouth as well as her eyes, the two masked men located the key to her sons home in a living room cupboard.
Departing Yoshie's, left behind in the corridor, were two types of shoe print traces, by cheap jogging shoes, manufactured by Tajima Kasei Industrial Co., and Solar Rubber Industry.
As they moved between homes, the men disconnected the power to a pair of 40 watt Yukimi lanterns used to illuminate the yard.
Having recently returned home from the wedding ceremony, of the son of another confectionery wholesaler president, at the Kyoto International Hotel, Katsuhisa Ezaki bathed on the 2nd floor with his youngest daughter Yukiko, four years old, and his only son, Etsuro, 11 years old.
Also on the 2nd floor in the master bedroom, wife, Mikieko and oldest daughter, seven year old Mariko were also watching the television program, Shin YumeChiyo Nikki together.
Using the stolen key, the armed and masked men entered the home undetected through the front door.
Quickly making their way to the 2nd floor, they confronted Mikieko and Mariko, who screamed out in surprise. The masked man with the handgun responded, "Be quiet Mariko".
Offering money in exchange for their safety Mikieko was rejected by the man with the rifle who told her in a low voice "Be quiet. Money is irrelevant."
Mother and daughter then had their mouths and eyes covered and hands restrained behind them with red tape.
They were left in the bathroom attached to the master bedroom. The men blocked the door with a metal shelf and a garbage can.
The bedroom phone cord was then cut with a knife.
Recalled by the victims, playing on the television show at the moment of their capture, Ironically, was a scene where someone was bathing.
Across the second floor in another bathroom the masked men found their target.
"Be quiet, do not make noise" the man with the rifle said in his low voice as he stuck the barrel of the weapon into Katsuhisa's chest.
Etsuro and Yukiko screamed in fear and the masked man told them, "Quiet or I will shoot".
As their father was escorted from the bathroom the children were left with the warning, "Do not get out of the bath."
Katsuhisa was taken to his childrens bedroom, where he was allowed to wrap himself in a towel, before being handcuffed.
At this time a portion of the Secom alarm system began alerting, having detected the cut phone line. "Hurry, do it quickly" one criminal said to the other.
Putting up a struggle, and losing his towel in the process Katsuhisa was taken from his home, out to the street where he watched a red car pull up to him.
Katsuhisa Ezaki was placed in the back seat, and driven away.
At approximately 9:36pm, 30 minutes from the time her mother-in-laws home was broken into and 6 minutes from the time of her husbands abduction, Mikieko Ezaki, breaks free from her tape binding, by rubbing her wrists against a bathroom wall corner.
After escaping the bathroom, Mikieko retrieved a pair of scissors, from a bedroom table, to free her daughter.
She then attempted to use the bedroom phone, finding no dial tone, only silence.
She cautiously descended to the first floor and called police using the dining room telephone which was still operational.
Mikieko contacted Hyogo Prefectural Police, and Masamichi Ezaki, vice president of Glico Nutrition and younger brother of Katsuhisa, who immediately hopped on a bicycle, for the 11 minute ride to the Ezaki compound, to tend to his distraught family.
At 9:38 pm, daughter Mariko pressed an emergency warning button, contacting SECOM, and sounding an additional alarm, prompting security dispatch to contact the Ezaki home.
Having still not discovered that Katsuhisa was missing, Mikieko alerted the Hyogo police, to a break in and burglary.
Mikieko then returned to the second floor, where she found her other two children, frightened and alone.
It was now that she realized the intentions of the masked men.
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The first investigator to arrive on scene did not know how to enter the large Ezaki residence, and was forced to climb the wall to get inside.
The investigator then learned of the missing man, Katsuhisa, and of his mother, Yoshie, who was also found and freed from her bindings, with the help of her son Masamichi, who had arrived by this time.
After the initial confusion, investigators switched the charges to kidnapping, with the arrival of more officers to the scene.
The stolen Ezaki house key was found left in the keyhole, of the front door.
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Nishinomiya and Hyogo Prefectural police deployed additional emergency resources. after 10 pm.
Being close to the border, Osaka Prefectural Police were contacted as well. as it was likely the criminals had fled east. into Osaka.
However by that time it had been over an hour since the abduction, and there were no witnesses around the Ezaki residence who could provide any further information.
Nishinomiya and Osaka police, stationed officers, in a wide deployment of checkpoints, and instructed them to check car trunks thoroughly.
At this point 163 investigators were now involved in the search for the abducted Glico President, Katsuhisa Ezaki.
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At 1:15 AM, on March 19th 1984, 30 kilometers northeast from the Ezaki residence, in Takatsuki, at the Home of Glico Director of Human Resources, Fujie Hirotake, the phone rings.
It is several hours after the abduction of his company president, when Fujie Hirotake is awoken by the phone call. When he answers, he hears a mans voice speak. The voice seems to be a recording, being played back into the phones receiver, for him to hear.
The voice on the phone says:"Look at the telephone directory in the public telephone box in Takatsuki, just above 3 chome."
The calling phone then disconnects, leaving Fujie to the task.
Unaware of Katsuhusa Ezaki's abduction, Fujie Hirotake later stated that the voice recording sounded like President Ezaki himself.
Fujie Hirotake then goes for a walk in the rain, wearing a poncho, and carrying an umbrella. He arrives at his destination at 1:40am.
In the telephone box in Makami, Takatsuki, Osaka prefecture, he finds a brown tea envelope, sandwiched between telephone directory books. Inside, is a letter reading:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
LETTER
I am holding a hostage. Prepare 1 billion yen in cash and 100 kilograms of gold and put it in a white or ivory light car in front of department head Fujie’s house in Takatsuki and leave it there. Put only a skilled driver in at Hokuetsu road and I will call you on Fujie’s home number.
You can only let this be known to the banks manager, companies driver, Kaneko and Fujie. Tell anything to the police, I will definitely kill the hostage.
I have friends at the Police, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation and I will know immediately if you try to trace me. We are watching Fujie’s house and the company.
Prepare a road map of the Kansai, a map of Takatsuki, a blank memo note pad and something to write with. Don’t try trick me with cash or gold. Wireless microphones, wireless radios are pointless.
If you use a detective for the driver, we will know. Don’t try to trace me, it is pointless. Do not speak, only write. We will conduct a scientific research for 24 hours. Do not use new banknotes. I won’t negotiate. Just listen to what I say.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Mentioned in the letter directly, are Glico HR Director, Fujie Hirotake, and Glico Managing Director, Tetsuo Kaneko.
Horrified, Fujie immediately contacted the police.
Now both involved in an abduction investigation, Hyogo Prefectural Police Director, Takeshi Yoshino, set the charges at "Kidnapping, for the purpose of Ransom", and established an investigation headquarters in Ibaraki Station, with the neighboring Osaka Police Director, Osamu Shikata.
As the ransom letter was found, reporters and neighbors, still dressed in their sleep-wear, crowded the street in front of the Ezaki residence, lit by the flashing lights of emergency vehicles.
Newspapers printed articles for their morning editions, and the incident was beginning to be reported on television and radio broadcasts.
It was too late to contain the information that had spread so far, but to protect the victim, and further operation secrecy, an agreement for media silence was sought. and Hyogo prefecture’s chief executive detective, Kinari Masuda, began talks with public relations managers at 3:00am on the 19th.
At 7:30am, after discussions, and much reluctance, branch directors of newspaper companies signed the press agreement, and for now, no additional information on the case would be reported.
Many suspected that a daring and experienced European criminal group was responsible, as high profile cases of kidnapping and ransom, had become more common recently in Europe.
The previous November, the Netherlands saw the abduction of the chairman of the beer company Heineken, while on his way home. An armed three-man team demanded a ransom of ¥ 9 billion. After 3 weeks the men were arrested, and the chairman was rescued, unharmed.
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On March 19th, the price of Ezaki Glico stock, which was 750 yen at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, fell to 630 yen.
Investigators examined Glico headquarters, subsidiaries and subcontractors, looking for suspicious employees, past, and present, numbering about 1,700 active employees.
Of interest to investigators, is possible motive, from anyone who may have been effected by labor disputes, or were dismissed, or forced to retire, after company mergers in the past.
It would appear there were more potential enemies of Glico, and it's president, Katsuhisa Ezaki, than expected.
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The actions and motives of the men who took Katsuhisa Ezaki, were heavily debated. How had the criminals known about the security system in Katsuhisa's home, and the lack of one and presence of a key at his mothers home? Was it an employee of the alarm company?
At the Ezaki residence, in Nishinomiya, with a home full of investigators, not eating, and locked up with her children in their second floor bedroom, wife, Mikieko, waits by the phone, terrified.
Had the criminals been in her home before?
Mikieko told investigators, that 2 days before the abduction, she had noticed the Yukimi lanterns in the backyard had turned off, from 10 to 11 pm. These lanterns covered the rock and tree garden near an enclosed pond, at the south end of the property. From this location it would be possible to observe the interior of both homes.
On the day of the abduction, daughter Mariko came home from a friend's birthday party at around 5:30 pm, and witnessed a red car at an intersection, 100 meters east of her home.
A second sighting that same day was made by son Etsuro, who came home from extra schooling at 7:30 pm, and also saw an unfamiliar red car in front of his home.
The car was identified as either a red Mitsubishi Galant Lambda, or a red 2000 Nissan Skyline.
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Nearly 2 years prior, on May 5th 1982, the Ezakis had a large social gathering at the site of their unfinished, under construction house.
December 8th that same year the key was needed by movers to bring in the furniture.
Days later on December 11th, the house was completed and Katsuhisa came into possession of 2 keys.
Investigators gathered a list of people with knowledge of the inside of the Ezaki property. Of the 640 names gathered, 111 of them were Ezaki family members, 177 friends of the family, 208 construction workers and contractors, and 14 housekeepers.
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At a market price of about 300 million yen, 100 kilograms of gold is a difficult amount to gather, and Glico never disclosed who it's supplier was. It was a question whether the gold came from within the company or the Ezaki family itself, and whether or not the criminal group had some how known about it, requesting it specifically.
As for the cash, it was quite the task to collect 1 billion yen, in all old bills.
1 billion Yen, and 100 Kilograms of gold, is a ransom large in both cost and physical quantity. Yet Katsuhisas colleagues at Glico, were able to amass the sum, by the following evening.
Bugged with tracking devices and documented for identification purposes, the ransom was placed in a light van, which was driven to the Takatsuki home of Fujie Hirotake, at 5 pm on the 19th, where it was parked outside.
At 6:09 PM the phone rings and Fujie answers with investigators listening in on the call.
There is only silence on the other end.
The call is traced to a public phone in front of a coffee shop in the same municipal ward, Kyobashi, Osaka.
At 6:24PM the phone rings again and Fujie answers.
A taped recording of Katsuhisa Ezaki is heard, choppy and at low volume. It is played repeatedly into the receiver for 1 minute. This call came in the same way 5 separate times over the next hour.
"Get either Fujie or Keneko in the car. Go to Takatsuki. Wait at the restaurant Kotobuki for my call. Driver waits in the car, another person enters the restaurant. Kotobuki is being watched from both inside and outside. Prepare notes and wait by the phone. I will call Nakamura. From now on, your names are Nakamura."
This call was traced to a public phone in front of Okonomiyaki Higashi Noda 3-chome, in Miyakojima, Osaka Prefecture, near the Osaka Police Headquarters. There was no doubt with investigators that someone in the criminal group was located in the direction of Kyobashi.
Fujie Hirotake then traveled in the vehicle with the money to the restaurant Kotobuki, where he waited inside at 7:30 pm.
At 8:52 pm, a phone call came into the restaurant saying: "President Ezaki is in a hospital in Settsu"
Despite this call, Katsuhisa Ezaki did not turn up in any Osaka Hospitals. No other phone calls were received and investigators were forced to end the operation.
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The next morning on March 20th 1984, Hyogo Prefectural Police announced a description of the suspects who abducted Katsuhisa Ezaki based on eyewitness reports.
Suspect A is described as approximately 170cm tall. About 40 years old. He wore a white mask, white gloves, dark clothes, dark shoes. He had a low voice, and carried a rifle that looked to be made of plastic. Suspect A is thought to be the leader.
Suspect B is described as approximately 160 cm tall. Medium build. About 35 years old. He wore a white mask with one opening for both eyes and a mouth opening, white gloves, dark clothes, and dark shoes with no laces. He carried a handgun.
Mikieko Ezaki reported that suspect B bore a resemblance to actor Takuzo Kawatani.
Suspect C is the driver of the vehicle used to transport Mr. Ezaki from his home. He is described as approximately 165 cm tall, about 20 Years old. He wore a black mask, and had acne.
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Going back to the night of the abduction on March 18th, Katsuhisa Ezaki stated that the passenger seat of the two-door red car was leaned forward, in anticipation of his arrival.
Katsuhisa tried to resist getting in the car by twisting his body, but was pushed into the rear seat by the criminals.
Criminal B who, carried a handgun, got into the back seat, and Katsuhisa was pushed down over his knees. A big gray cloth was put over his head.
"Get down. I will kill you if you make a noise", threatened criminal A, the abductor with the rifle.
Blinded and handcuffed in the rear seat of his abductors vehicle, Katsuhisa heard a woman's voice synthesized by a computer at the expressway tollgate: "It's 700 yen, thank you very much!".
Calculated back from the 700 yen tollway, the red vehicle will come the the Meishin expressway, from the Nishinomiya Interchange. From there to the Suita Interchange, they will have reached the water defense warehouse in the southern part of Ibaraki City, in Osaka prefecture.
After the Hyogo prefectural police were contacted by the alarm company the criminal group would have had difficulty traveling in and out of the area on main roads such as Hanshin, Meishin and national highways. Because of these facts, it is believed that the abductors and Katsuhisa Ezaki had already arrived at the Yodogawa Coastal Water Defense Association Warehouse by 10 o'clock PM.
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The two-story block building covered in tinplate completed in December 1968, is located on the left bank of the Ai River.
Across a canal running parallel lies the Osaka Cargo Terminal Station.
Few local residents know about or ever pass near the warehouse. The head of the 11th flood control group managing the building, said it contains sandbags, ropes and other supplies in preparation for a flood. There have been no disasters and it is considered a "vacuum ground". As a result, flood control workers don't often visit the facility. The manager stating he had only been there once himself, but never after its construction was complete.
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After leaving the highway and driving for a short time Katsuhisa felt the car stop and turn off. Criminals A and B exited the car. Katsuhisa heard the trunk opening. After about 5 minutes passed, the two returned and the car started again.
Upon arrival at the warehouse Katsuhisa yelled for help and had his mouth covered by criminal B with a piece of tape. He was covered completely in a large body length bag and felt who he thought were criminals A and B escort him into the warehouse where he heard the door close behind him.
The handcuffs were then removed. From the first floor to the second floor was a thin wooden ladder. Katsuhisa was confined to the second floor which is about 50 square meters in size.
After being taken up the ladder the bag was removed by Criminal A and a white ski hat with a gold, green and pink stripe was placed over Katsuisas head and eyes. The criminals took polaroid photos of the company president naked then dressed him in a black overcoat and re-handcuffed him.
Criminal A told Katsuhisa that they took his daughter to another building. And if the gold and money are delivered by his company, they will bring him and his daughter home.
Katsuhisa said that Criminal A lit up some text typed on whitish paper with a flashlight. A micro cassette recorder was placed in front of him and Katsuhisa was forced to read the text aloud repeatedly. This was the message that sent the Police to Kotobuki restaurant, where nothing ultimately happened. This voice recording will become a common fixture sent along with letters from the criminal group.
On the evening of the 19th, as a cold storm beat raindrops violently on the tin roof, Katsuhisa was left with Suspect C, the driver, as the other 2 criminals left the warehouse.
This is believed to fall around the 6:24 pm time frame, in which the criminals contacted Fujie Hirotake to play the taped message, resulting in their call being traced.
Criminal C gave Katsuhisa canned coffee, juice, two pieces of sweet buns, and biscuits from the chain store Daiei.
When he needed to relieve himself, Katsuhisa was given a wooden box. He was forced to use his remaining canned coffee to clean up.
Katsuhisa was then blinded with the ski hat and had his mouth covered with red tape. His legs were bound with a vinyl rope.
His hands were cuffed behind his back until he made a plea to Criminal C that they hurt, the criminal gave in and placed the cuffs in Katsuhisas front.
Each time a nearby bullet train passed with great speed, the roaring sound rocked and rattled the tin roof. Katsuhisa waited, terrified through the night.
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At around 1 pm on the 20th a receipt from the fourth register on the 1st floor of the Super Izumiya and Shobo store in Hirakata City, Osaka Prefecture, confirmed the purchase of a set of clothes placed on Katsuhisa that same day.
This Super Izumiya store is located in front of the Keihan Electric Rail, located within the Hokusetsu region of Osaka where Ibaraki, Settsu, Nyayagawa and the flood control warehouse are located. It is likely that someone in the criminal group resides in this area.
Criminal A took out new white underwear from a black cloth bag, a pair of blue pants which are made in Vietnam and a white short-sleeved shirt. After putting these items on Katsuhisa, Criminal A instructed criminal C remove the handcuffs and bind his hands and legs behind his back with a white rope. Katsuhisa stated that the binding of the rope was not done very tight.
At about 10 pm on the 20th, only criminal A appeared in the warehouse. At the same time, witness information from the raily ard is that a whitish Nissan Laurel was stopped for a long time on the road before the Ai River embankment.
Criminal A stated he had been playing dolls with Katsuhisas daughter Mariko. And that his friends are watching from a car outside.
"Do not try to escape or I will kill her instead."
Criminal A left the warehouse. But returned once more to have Katsuhisa speak into the voice recorder that he would be killed if the money wasn't handed over.
Criminal A left the warehouse once again. Katsuhisa felt it was a trap, but this was the last time he saw the criminal group.
Also on this day, TV news broadcasted the resolution of another abduction case that happened on the 17th, one day prior to Katsuhisa Ezakis abduction.
A company employee in Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture, was abducted and confined to a housing complex in Takahata, but after four days was recovered at a coffee shop in Kyoto, with the abductor also being captured.
The housing complex where the employee was confined was just seven kilometers northeast of the flood control warehouse where Katsuhisa Ezaki was held.
As a result, a news helicopter and police cars patrolled the area on the afternoon of the 20th, likely putting pressure on the criminals who abducted Katsuhisa and contributing to them abandoning their valuable hostage.
After having been left alone in the water defense warehouse for 15 hours. Katsuhisa managed to remove his loose bindings by himself at around 2 pm on Sunday the 21st of March.
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There are two entrances to the water defense warehouse. One on the east side and one on the north side of the first floor. Katsuhisa was brought into the warehouse through the iron door on the east side. A new padlock was attached to this door for use by the criminals.
But the iron door on the north side was not locked from the outside. Instead it has a structure in which two steel doors open to the left and right along a rail, a clasp with a hole was attached to the inside center of the inside of the two doors, and a bolt with a diameter of 1/6 cm and a length of 50 cm passed through the hole, where it was tightened with a nut.
Katsuhisa did not know that this door existed.
In the dark, he kicked every wall and corner until he found light leaking through and realized there was a door made to look like the wall from the inside.
The nut and bolt were corroded but as he kicked the door, the nut relaxed, allowing him to take it off.
The nut and bolt would be taken into evidence along with Katsuhisas juice cans.
Katsuhisa descended down the river bank in heavy rainfall. In addition to his new clothes, and his previous black, mud covered overcoat and ski hat, he still had a piece of white rope around his right wrist. His right cheek had been scratched but he had no idea when it happened.
Stumbling, cold and afraid, with no socks or shoes, Katsuhisa crossed a small bridge over the Ai River, and walked on the tracks where he was discovered by the staff of the Japan National Railway Osaka Carrier Station transport headquarters. The transport station staff initially thought Katsuhisa was a drug addict before placing him in a truck and driving him another 300 meters to reach a phone, calling police for him at 2:22 pm.
Speaking fast and frantically, Osaka police dispatchers initially thought the call from Katsuhisa himself was a prank. An investigator working on the case took the call and spoke to Ezaki, now confident the identification was positive.
A police car arrived and made contact with Katsuhisa who had been drinking several cups of water to re hydrate after his ordeal. Additionally Katsuhisa was relieved to call home at 2:48 where he discovered his daughter was not only home but his entire family was left unharmed.
About an hour before his escape a call came into Fujies home phone playing the final recorded message of Katsuhisa while captive.
Katsuhisa Ezaki was brought to Takahagi police station by car where investigators warmed him and offered him food. Requesting tempura soba, the Station dining room had no soba noodles that day. Instead Ezaki was given eggs in tempura udon. Ezaki ate for a while, including donuts and milk.
Having the Water defense warehouse used to hold Katsuhisa Ezaki in their jurisdiction, Osaka Prefectural Police were notified of the presidents escape before Hyogo Police, who, on their own side, felt a claim to the case as the abduction had taken place in their own jurisdiction.
A longstanding rivalry between the neighboring prefectures is exampled by the fact that during their first 24 hours of investigation on the Ezaki property, Hyogo Police had learned of the Yukimi lanterns in the garden being turned off during the abduction, and Mikieko Ezakis account of the lanterns losing power 2 days prior. The power source was found to have been pulled from the ground and sabotaged. This was something that had to be done with considerable force and was no coincidence. This fact was not relayed to Osaka Police initially.
A division between police forces had taken root, prolonging what now seemed to be two investigations of the same case. Katsuhisa Ezaki himself even remarked that the same question was frequently asked twice by investigators.
The Osaka Prefectural Police interviewed Ezaki for about forty minutes with Hyogo Prefectural Police watching over for the second half.
Katsuhisa was not entirely forthcoming about his abduction and seemed reserved. When asked about what had happened he only responded by saying he wished to go home as he was safe and the case was over. He did not wish to recall the incident any further.
When questioned, his wife Mikieko stated that Katsuhisa is a shy, quiet person who spends his free time playing golf.
Later on the 21st of March the press agreement was lifted, allowing reporters to flood the media with headlines of the abduction and recovery of the candy company president.
In part, an article published on March 21st 1984 reads:
HEADLINE: Kidnapped executive escapes
TOKYO -- A Japanese candy tycoon who was kidnapped from his bath broke his bonds Wednesday and escaped from a vacant building where gunmen had held him for nearly $6 million in cash and gold -- the largest ransom ever asked in Japan.
Katsuhisa Ezaki, 42, made his break before daylight when his abductors left him unattended in a riverside building in Osaka, Japan's second largest city, police said.
They said the executive worked loose of the ropes that bound him, kicked down a door and fled into the streets, ending 65 hours in captivity. Two railway employees helped him to telephone authorities and his wife.
'I have escaped,' Ezaki told his wife in an emotional telephone call, police said.
During his ordeal, Ezaki told police his head was covered with a bag and he was fed juice and crackers. The kidnappers told him they were also holding his 8-year-old daughter, which was untrue.
Ezaki said the abductors, who brandished what he believed were toy weapons, provided him with the cotton shirt and dark blue jogging suit in which he was found. He was barefoot and his face was scratched but he was otherwise unharmed, a police spokesman said.
News reports indicated there was no payment made on the unprecedented ransom demand for 1 billion yen, worth $4.5 million. The kidnappers also asked for 100 kilograms, or 220 pounds of gold, worth about $1.28 million at current prices.
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President Ezaki spoke at a press conference at Ezaki Glico headquarters in Nishiyodogawa, Osaka at 10:30 pm that same evening.
On behalf of the Hyogo prefectural police press club, Tetsumi Doya company secretary of the newspaper Asahi, was the question leader.
Katsuhisa answered questions and spoke with a humble yet, depressed mood.
Q: What is your present condition?
A: I am relieved. Thanks to you, I have returned safely.
Q: What was the situation that allowed you to run away?
A: My guards left, so I took off the ropes from both hands and ran away.
Q: Do you have any knowledge of the background of why this crime happened?
A: I have no idea.
Ezaki: I have not exchanged words with the criminal. I did not ask, but I thought that the purpose was money.
Q: Mr. Ezaki, do you have any idea who may have committed this crime?
A: I have no idea.
Q: Did you get to see their face?
A: His face, they were always wearing a mask so...
Q: They were always wearing a mask?
A: Yes, so I didn’t get to see their face.
Q: So you didn’t get to see their face without the mask at all?
A: I didn’t see their face.
Ezaki: Sunday night around 9pm, they just came in my house all of a sudden. They put me in a car that was parked right outside my house, and they put something on my head, so I couldn’t see anything. Then they took me to this little shack.
When pressed further Katsuhisa Ezaki stated, "I do not want to remember much."
Ending the conference, Ezaki stated: I’m just very relieved. I’d like to thank everyone for caring and being worried about me. I’m back here, unharmed, because of all of you. Thank you so much.
Anything beyond that, no matter how much reporters asked, he did not answer.
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Why did the criminals leave their hostage alone if he was their ticket to the ransom money? Did Glico secretly pay the criminals?
In regards to Katsuhisa Ezaki's escape from the warehouse through the use of a hidden door, investigators believed it would have been quite difficult to loosen the corroded nut and bolt the way Katsuhisa claimed.
Katsuhisa also did not know of the doors existence until he happened upon it while kicking the walls looking for an escape route and happening upon a light leak, leading to its discovery.
The possibility of an overlap in these coincidences led investigators to question the legitimacy of Katsuhisas claims.
Had Ezaki been informed of the doors existence? Had the door been left open enough to leak light on purpose? Had the nut and bolt been placed in a fashion aiding in its removal?
Katsuhisa himself also indicated that before his abandonment, his handcuffs were replaced with a loosely tied rope.
In addition, the criminals dressed Ezaki in new clothes the day before his escape. Was this a sign they never intended to return and that the was intended?
The opinion that the criminal group tolerated the escape was strong within the investigation headquarters.
It had taken the criminals 6 minutes to pull off their abduction of a full grown man. With the ability to navigate the Ezaki home with ease.
If they were after money, why not kidnap his elderly mother? Why take an adult at all? A child would be easier to restrain, to transport, and hide until ransom demands could be met.
When the criminals attacked the mother and daughter one of them called the eldest daughter, Mariko, by her name.
The criminal also stated to Mikieko Ezaki that "money is irrelevant", leading to strong thinking that a grudge against Katsuihsa, his family, or Glico in general, was the motive.
In addition, Katsuhisa Ezaki had a habit of taking a bath Sundays from 9 o'clock to 10 o'clock in the evening.
Therefore, the investigators were more inclined to the theory that those responsible were familiar with the internal circumstances of the Ezaki family.
Although there was a request for ransom from the criminal, the request was a tremendous amount of cash and 100 kilograms of gold, and no one came to pick it up.
Was the real goal money or Katsuhisa?
Over the course of the next year and a half the criminal group that abducted the candy company president from his home would go on to set fire to a Glico building and vehicle, poison the food products of other Japanese food companies and more. All while continuing to extort money from it's victims and adopting the name "Monster with 21 Faces".
Several suspicious individuals were seen throughout the case though no one was ever caught.
Who were they?
The information gathered is presented in an 8 episode podcast on all major podcast platforms and at www.TheMonsterWith21Faces.com as well as the website www.DarqArt.com.
The RSS feed is: https://feeds.fireside.fm/themonsterwith21faces/rss
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmcv1rfK39psLiYWxlTtlWg
Twitter - @Monster21Faces
Instagram - monster21faces - https://www.instagram.com/monster21faces/
Facebook - @TheMonsterWith21Faces - https://www.facebook.com/TheMonsterWith21Faces
Or send any questions or info to me at 21monsterfaces@gmail.com