CASE CRACKED: Glico-Morinaga
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On June 22nd 1984 a letter arrived at the Takatsuki home of Japanese food company president Takashi Haga, president of Marudai Food.
This was one in a long line of extortion and harassment letters sent to various Japanese food companies by a criminal gang calling themselves "Monster with 21 Faces".
The Monster With 21 Faces was never caught and their crimes have reached the statute of limitations in Japan. They also never collected any of the ransom demands they made.
In their crime spree lasting from March 18th 1984 to August 12th 1985 they committed Attempted Murder, Kidnapping for Ransom, Burglary Injury, Non-Residential Building Arson, Attempted Extortion and many Postal Law Violations.
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LETTER
Dear Haga,
I hope you know about us.
Your company did so well because of Glico's mishaps.
You should give us some of the money you have due to their failures.
Don’t you feel bad for not giving us any money?
Give us 50 million yen with used 10,000 yen bills. Put 10 million yen in each white bag and wait at Ota’s house in Nichiyoshidai.
Have a company’s driver in a white car waiting in front of the house. On Thursday, June 28th at 8pm, I will call 0726 87 1234.
Say "It’s Yamada" when you pick up the phone, I’ll tell you where the letter is.
Once you get the call, start moving. Once you read the letter, immediately follow the directions.
Ota should wear a white blazer, I won’t do anything to Ota.
If you can’t decide on your own just talk to Komori, Kudara, and Takano.
If you don’t listen to what we say and obey us, you’ll fall into the same situation as Glico.
We know a lot about Fushimi and Yamatecho.
If you tell the police, we’ll abduct your employees.
We’re stronger than the police, we have hydrochloric acid, potassium cyanide, dynamite, and guns.
It’s super easy to put potassium cyanide in things, just get a syringe and we can put it in ham, sausage, and anything else.
I’ll let you listen to Katsuhisa’s voice while he had been abducted.
If you’re going to give us money, put this advertisement up on Mainchi and Sankei, for the Kinki region on the 26th and 27th of June.
Looking for part-timers. Advertisement and Salesperson.
Under age 35, a healthy lady. 500 yen an hour.
Transportation fee provided.
Contact Marudai Food Inc. Personnel Department.
Monster with 21 faces.
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June 28th 1984. Its a quiet night during the rainy season. 50 Million in used 10,000 yen bills, divided into white bags sits in a white Corolla with a company driver, parked outside the Takatsuki home of Marudai Foods Managing Director, Yasuhiro Ota.
Marudai had contacted Osaka Prefectural Police for assistance who had decided to carry out the operation alone in an attempt to close the case themselves, refusing to ask Hyogo or neighboring police forces to bring additional support.
The Monster promised to call at 8 o'clock pm. 3 minutes later the phone rings. Ota answers "It's Yamada," as directed.
A voice recording of a woman plays into the receiver of the unknown caller.
"The back of the tourist information map at the city bus platform south of Mitsui Bank of Seibu department store in Takatsuki"
A special criminal investigator of Osakas Prefectural Police Investigation Division, posing as Ota, put on a white blazer jacket as requested in the letter. In addition, to sell the look, the investigator shaved the top of his head to resemble the balding executive.
Followed discreetly by fellow undercover investigators the undercover Osaka Investigator carrying the money departed from the house in the white Corolla as instructed in the initial letter
The Investigator arrived arrived at 8:16pm to find an envelope taped to the back of a bus stop guide board.
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LETTER
"To Yamada
As soon as you read this, move immediately
Take this ticket and go to Takatsuki Station
Take the 8:19 Kyoto bound train that stops at every station
It is a yellow train
Get on the second car from the back and sit on the left side
marked with the circle. Either circle is fine.
Ride the train alone, Yamada
If the seats in the circled area are not available, say that you feel sick and have someone give up their seat.
Sit on the side with the tracks and open the window so that you can throw out the bag"
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At this part of the letter is a diagram of the rear train cars with circled spots indicating where to sit. The diagram indicates Osaka and Kyotos direction as well as specifying the train as "The yellow train bound for Kyoto that stops at every station."
The letter continues:
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"Perceive
Once you see the 1-meter square, white flag,
throw the bag out the window
Go to Kyoto, and if there is no flag, then do it again
When you retry, contact me"
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In the envelope, along with the letter was Katsuhisa's voice recording on tape. As well, the Monster provided a ticket for the 340 yen section.
Investigators on the case were concerned that their radios could not be used within the train which would effectively cut off off communication to headquarters.
However, at Takatsuki Station, the investigator carrying the money bag, too late for the instructed 8:19 train, boards the train from Takatsuki Station bound for Kyoto at 8:35, surrounded by 7 fellow undercover officers.
Instructed by Headquarters, the money carrier disobeyed the letters instructions of boarding the second to last train car, instead getting into the leading train car on a left side seat with the goal being to force any criminals onboard to reveal themselves should they move about the train in search of Ota carrying the money.
Investigators aboard the train initially confirmed 2 suspicious passengers. One was a man about 50-years-old wearing a bright blazer with a bag who had been on the train before they boarded and got off at a station between Takatsuki and Kyoto. The man was seen looking at the investigator carrying the money bag and was described as being restless.
The other was a slender man about 30 years old, operating a large radio with an antenna. At that time, it was rare for people to carry radios and it was thought maybe he was trying to match the radio used by the police as he was seen working the frequency adjustment controls.
Soon enough however a more suspicious man would reveal himself to investigators.
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There was a man 35 to 45 years old, about 175-178 cm in height, he had a thin lip, thin eyebrows and was well built, wearing a gray suit and clear glasses with silver rims and short permed hair. He carried a black umbrella with a handle, and a newspaper folded in four.
The most striking thing to investigators however was his silent gaze, hunting, with eyes like those of a fox.
The Fox-eyed man was described by investigators as looking like a young salary worker. Dressed in the style of a slightly disorganized office worker, a real estate agent, a moneylender or a gangster because wearing a flashy blazer was a cheap up-and-coming amateur yakuza style.
Being June, there were not many people wearing suits in the hot weather.
His stiff posture gave investigators the impression that he was Korean or a Korean-in-Japan rather than Japanese.
In addition to the mans physical description, investigators also provided first-hand impressions, describing the atmosphere of the man as being apocalyptic, lonely and clearly different from an ordinary person.
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The Fox eyed man, located in the train car behind the money carrier began looking around. Investigators riding in the same car saw the man acting suspicious, walking around, stretching, and appearing restless.
Seemingly without care or notice of the investigators, the man makes his way toward the front of the sparsely populated car. Spotting the money carrier sitting in the next train car over, the Fox eyed man watches intently through the doors glass window.
For 20 minutes to Kyoto Station, the Fox eyed man stood two meters from a pair of investigators posing as a couple.
One investigator thought the man may have been there scope out the situation for the criminal group.
However the man's actions were too careless, if he was caught, he could claim no knowledge or ties to the criminal group and ignorance having interfered with the investigation.
The fox-eyed man mostly watched the cash carrier and had no reason to. Investigators felt that this man was suspicious, but did not say anything because it might be intercepted over radio.
The money carrier did not see a flag and did not toss the bag from the window. The train arrived at Kyoto Station at 8:50PM. Exiting his car last, the undercover investigator made his way to the stations schedule board.
Exiting the car behind him was the passenger with the radio, and the fox eyed man.
Investigators short handed, and under instructions to stay with the money carrier were forced to let the radio man walk free. However, the Fox eyed man remained a part of the scene as he followed the money carrier through the station.
Circling the staircase, and checking below carefully before heading down himself, the Fox eyed man followed the money carrier to the lower level of the Kyoto train station with the investigators watching from a short distance away.
Unsure what to do next, the investigator with the money used a payphone to consult headquarters who instructed him to return to Takatsuki station on the next train. The money carrier then headed into the restroom while the Fox eyed man kept watch from behind a pillar.
One of the undercover investigators following the scene also called Headquarters while at Kyoto Station, asking permission to stop the Fox eyed man. They were denied as the mission was still to apprehend the group only when the criminals had touched the money bag.
This investigator would again call for permission to stop the suspect at Kamizushi Station on the way back to Takatsuki, however he was denied again.
After exiting the restroom and getting a return ticket, the cash carrying investigator returns to the platform and sits on a bench with the bag in hand. The Fox eyed man watches him from the ticket gate for a short time before he himself approaches the platform. The Fox Eyed man began circling the money carrier at a distance of about 3 meters, like a shark on the hunt, stopping occasionally to study his prey deeply, before sitting on an adjacent bench and continuing his watch over the investigator.
His movements were to obvious and theatric. Was this man here as a distraction?
When the train to Takatsuki station arrived, the money carrier boarded and the Fox snuck onto another car to follow.
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Arriving back at Takatsuki the money carrier exits the train station facility through the ticket gate under the watchful eye of the Fox.
An investigator waiting outside drove the money carrier back to the Marudai Managers house by car.
The fox then boards the next train back to Kyoto.
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10:17PM Lying in wait at Kyoto station to join their fellow investigators were 2 additional undercover officers. This was their chance to stop the man now that the money carrier was out of the picture.
After exiting the train once again at Kyoto Station, the Fox stood on the platform as if to wait for the next train back to Takatsuki once again. The Takatsuki bound train arrived and the crowd emptied into it, but the Fox remained motionless on the platform as investigators watched.
The Fox then leaves past the ticket gate to an underground passage.
Following the Fox eyed man down the stairs, tailing investigators lose sight of him in the crowd at 10:30PM.
Before losing sight of the Fox Eyed Man he was witnessed by investigators, pulling a thousand yen bill from his pocket. It was theorized that if it was for use as taxi fare, a hideout location could be assumed to be within a distance that 1000 yen worth of Taxi fare would cover in Kyoto.
- Why did the investigator lose sight of the fox-eyed man?
The evening rush at Kyoto Station was over, and there were relatively few commuters around. Investigators risked revealing themselves if they followed too closely. Perhaps the Fox eyed man waited for this moment to lose his pursuers on purpose.
- Why didn't you ask the fox-eyed man a question at Kyoto Station?
Investigators called their headquarters from a Kyoto station payphone to ask permission to make a stop of the Fox eyed man for questioning. They were denied however as doing so would go against the mission plan of capturing all or many criminals at once. It was suggested that he could have been detained for interfering with a police operation when he watched and followed the money carrying investigator from the train, to the bathroom, then, returning to Tataksuki station from Kyoto station without purchasing a new ticket.
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The investigations reenactment and retesting of the visibility of the white flag yielded no answers as to whether the flag would have been or should have been witnessed by the investigators. It was either too dark out, or the rain obscured vision. The train running at 100 KMPH was also a factor as well as the fact that investigators disobeyed instructions and sat in the front of the train potentially shortening the window of opportunity to see the flag with the trains lights.
It's also possible that the criminals simply didn't show the flag, and the entire operation was another stage production, directed by the Monster, and starring the undercover investigators.
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It has been said that the undercover investigator carrying the money did in fact see the white flag. Choosing instead to not throw the bag from the window as there were no police in the area on standby to capture the criminals. He didn't want to risk losing the money.
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The man with eyes like a fox was determined to have been different in appearance from the three people who were witnessed by Katsuhisa Ezaki during his abduction, and the man and woman during the Daidomon operation. Internal to the investigation, the Fox Eyed Man was referred to as "F".
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This suspect would be seen again on November 14th 1984 during another police operation while dealing with The Monster with 21 Faces.
While at the Otsu Service Area, a Kyoto investigator watching over a cash delivery van noticed a man who appeared to be watching the investigators. This suspicious man was standing in the public phone booth located next to the Service area restaurant.
The man wore a dark colored windbreaker suit with a dark golf cap pulled low over short permed hair. He also wore light brown tinted sunglasses through which he appeared to stare at the cash delivery van while holding the receiver of the phone to his ear with his right hand.
The investigator got the attention of another and both began approaching the man from about a meter and a half away. The man hung up the receiver and began walking away from the phone booth.
The Kyoto investigators, working within the operation under the command of Osaka police radioed in the sighting of the suspicious Man to Osaka Command asking permission to detain and question him. The investigators were told that the transport of the cash delivery van until the apprehension of a criminal attempting to take the money from the van itself was the primary objective, and that the suspicious Man was not a priority at the time.
The man quickly got away from the parking lot through the pedestrian passage beside the guide board on which the instruction note was placed. He descended a flight of concrete steps to the general road and vanished from sight of the investigators, who were unfamiliar with the geography of Shiga Prefecture. The Kyoto investigators returned to their post.
An additional investigator on duty at the Otsu Service Area at the time, while standing behind a tree, saw the man and the short chase that ensued. This investigator was one of those who lost sight of the Fox-Eyed Man in Kyoto Station on June 28th and was positive that the man he saw chased from the phone booth on this day was the same person. The investigator attempted to take photos with a concealed camera, however due to its limitations the camera was in the wrong direction and only took photos of the ground.
Additionally another investigator saw a suspicious white Nissan Skyline speed away from the area where the Fox-Eyed man disappeared. The investigator only got a partial license plate reading of "89".
On the 10th of January 1985, police release the sketch artist drawing of the Fox Eyed Man suspect to the public.
Among many, top Fox-eyed man suspect 39 year old Manabu Miyazaki came onto police radar following the discovery that he was a whistleblower who outed Ezaki Glico for illegal waste dumping from 1977 to 1978.
Sporting the same short permed hair and wearing the same style of eye glasses as the Fox-eyed man, Manabu Miyazaki was known to have ties to various gang members, with his own father having once been a local Yakuza boss.
On June 28th 1984 the day of the first Fox-eyed man sighting, Miyazaki claimed to have been attending a trade union conference at a music college in Tokyo. On November 28th, the day of the 2nd sighting, Miyazaki claimed to had been in Tokyo consulting with his lawyer.
Despite being their top suspect, police discontinued the investigation into Miyazaki around 1990, unable to dispute his alibis.
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Who was the Fox-Eyed Man? Who was the Monster with 21 Faces?
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/
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Or send any questions or info to me at 21monsterfaces@gmail.com