Lifted Vision Ministry

Please find a news article I translated from Japanese below, which talks about a Japanese Christian woman who was ministering in Nishinari and was murdered for the work that she was doing here. I found out about this case when I was doing street ministry the other day, as a man I was ministering to in the street told me, “you know, you remind me of a Christian woman who was killed here. The last Christian woman who came here to Nishinari, they killed her.” Please read until the end to hear my final thoughts.

*Please use discretion when reading as it is a disturbing case with many gruesome details*

Shoko Yajima, known as “Mother Teresa of Nishinari,” was a female doctor who made headlines for her mysterious death in 2009. This article will display the truth behind the “Osaka Nishinari Woman Doctor Suspicious Death Case,” and the dark side of the poverty business.

The “Osaka Nishinari Woman Doctor Suspicious Death Case” is a case in which a woman doctor, Shoko Yajima, 34, was found drowned to death on November 16, 2009 at the Senbonmatsu ferry crossing of the Kizu River in Nishinari Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture. Although Ms. Yajima’s death was initially ruled a “suicide due to overwork” by the police, there were many unexplained points in the case, such as several traces on her body suggesting that she was murdered by another person, and that fact that her apartment was so clean that even her own fingerprints could not be taken during the on-site inspection.

Traces left on Sachiko Yajima’s body that suggest she was killed by another person
-there were pressure marks on the body (as in the case of a body that died of asphyxiation due to pressure on the neck).
-there was a spot of blood overflowing on the face, suggesting that the victim had died of asphyxiation.
-there was a bump on the parietal of the head (which occurs only in a viable state with blood flow).
-there were abrasion wounds on the frontal area, right shin, right hand, etc.
-the body was rigor mortis (drowned bodies do not have rigor mortis because their joints are free to move).

The family members of the deceased became suspicious and launched a campaign calling for the re-investigation of the “suspicious death of a female doctor in Nishinari, Osaka,” and in 2012, an investigation was launched as a “murder and abandonment of a corpse” case. On September 14, 2010, the family of the deceased filed a complaint with the Osaka Prefectural Public Safety Commission, demanding a reopening of the investigation. On August 22, 2012, a criminal complaint filed by the bereaved family was accepted as a case of “murder and abandonment of a corpse,” and the case was reopened for investigation.

Shoko Yajima was born on March 30, 1975, the third child (the eldest daughter) of the upper-middle class Yajima family in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture, with father Shokichi and mother Akiko both being doctors who graduated from Gunma University School of Medicine, as well as running a clinic on their premises. Shoko Yajima was apparently a brilliant student like her parents. As for what inspired Ms. Yajima to become a doctor like her parents, she was deeply impressed by a program she saw in high school that featured doctors working in refugee camps in developing countries.

After entering the Gunma University School of Medicine, Ms. Yajima was baptized and became a Christian at Takasaki Minami Church of the Japan Christian Association, and even traveled to India to meet Mother Teresa.

During her time at Gunma University School of Medicine, Shoko Yajima worked hard studying internal medicine and gynecology in order to help underpopulated medical areas. Ms. Yajima’s volunteer activities began around this time, when she was engaged in support activities for homeless people in the Airin area of Nishinari Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture.

Later, during her volunteer activities, she met Dr. Wataru Kurokawa, the founder of “NPO Health Support Osaka,” and she decided to work at “Kurokawa Clinic,” which is run by Dr. Kurokawa. After moving to Kurokawa Clinic in Tsuruhashi, Nishinari-ku, Yajima became even more involved in support activities, reportedly spending most of her salary and bonuses on the purchase of sleeping bags (distributed free of charge to the homeless). Her activities were so well received in the Airin area that she was even nicknamed the “Mother Teresa of Nishinari.

The timeline of the “Osaka Nishinari Female Doctor’s Suspicious Death Case” in which Sachiko Yajima became involved is as follows.

 At 10:00 p.m. on November 13, 2009, another doctor at the clinic confirmed that the deceased female doctor was working at the clinic.
At 4:15 a.m. on November 14, 2009 (weather: heavy rain), the woman activates the security system with her card and leaves the clinic. The woman was not seen by any of the security cameras (8 in total) installed in the shopping arcade where the clinic is located.
At 4:16 a.m. on November 14, 2009, the clinic’s security system alarm was activated.　　
At 4:50 a.m. on November 14, 2009 (approximately 30 minutes after the alarm was activated), security guards from a security company arrive. The clinic is unoccupied. The woman sends a text message to an acquaintance.

The same day, a postcard was posted in a mailbox near her home addressed to the acquaintance (male, 63 years old, former patient, who after the woman’s death referred to himself as her ex-boyfriend). The postcard was addressed to the woman’s former boyfriend.　

Because of these circumstances, I heard that many of the bereaved family members and colleagues speculated that Mr. Yajima had been attacked and abducted by someone at the “Kurokawa Clinic” in the early morning hours of November 14, 2009. Therefore, the fact that Mr. Yajima sent e-mails and postcards to his acquaintances after his disappearance from the “Kurokawa Clinic” may have been an alibi for the criminal group.

Nevertheless, the police apparently continued to withhold the family members’ request for investigation, and it was only on October 11, 2010, nearly a year after the incident, that they finally voluntarily investigated the “Kurokawa Clinic.”

Sachiko Yajima disappeared from the “Kurokawa Clinic” in the early morning of November 14, 2009, and the estimated time of death is said to be in the morning of November 14 of the same year. However, as a result of the bereaved family’s attempts to contact Ms. Yajima, it was found that her cell phone was ringing until 14:30 p.m. on November 15, 2009. The cell phone was later found in the pocket of the clothes Mr. Yajima was wearing, which means that the body was dumped in Kizugawa after 14:30 p.m. on November 15, 2009.

8 Mysteries of this Case: What is the darkness of the poverty business that Sachiko Yajima saw?

Mystery 1: Shoko Yajima faced the darkness of the poverty business 　

Before her death, Sachiko Yajima was a member of a group called the “Lodger’s Network” and engaged in support activities for the homeless in the Airin area of Nishinari Ward, Osaka City, and was said to have been at odds with the villains who preyed on the weak in the poverty business. As you know, the poverty business is a generic term for businesses that exploit the welfare system for the homeless and needy, and it is a structure in which various forces such as religious groups, leftist organizations, and gangs are mixed up and eat up their interests.

The poverty business in the Airin area is said to include not only the conventional business of arranging housing and taking welfare payments, but also a type of business that colludes with doctors to hospitalize healthy homeless people by prescribing large quantities of medicine and hospitalizing them, thereby gouging them out of medical expenses. Naturally, in many cases, the drugs prescribed to the homeless were collected and resold by the head of the poverty business.

Not all of them were the interests of the poverty business, and there were some organizations that seriously worked to help the poor, but it is said that in the entire Nishinari Ward at that time, more than 60 billion yen per year flowed to welfare expenses.

The “Lodger’s Network,” to which Mr. Yajima belonged, was an organization that was distinct from such poverty business interests, so there were forces within the Airin area that were alienated from it.

In particular, Ms. Yajima, who admired Mother Teresa, felt a strong resentment toward those who preyed on the weak, and there are reports that she was pursuing the dark side of the poverty business. They refer homeless people to hospitals and get a back margin. Homeless people are good for money. You can hospitalize them. They can secure them and let them live. If they are homeless and have Japanese citizenship, they get a shot at welfare. I heard that the female doctor questioned him about it. Sato and one other person who disappeared somewhere were present at the meeting. It was a little after the doctor was killed. I heard that she told him to cut ties with Kamagasaki.

I heard that Ms. Yajima had other plans to expose the poverty business in the Airin district, and she even contacted the mass media.

 Mystery 2:

Shoko Yajima felt she was in danger just before the incident. Sachiko Yajima, who had been pursuing the dark side of the poverty business rampant in the Airin district of Nishinari Ward, felt that she was in danger even before the “suspicious death of a female doctor in Nishinari, Osaka” incident. The reason why Ms. Yajima felt that she was in danger was because she felt that someone was following her for several days before the “suspicious death of a female doctor in Nishinari Ward, Osaka”. Therefore, on November 12-13, 2009, Ms. Yajima did not return to her apartment, but instead stayed at a friend’s house to protect herself. The reason why Ms. Yajima stayed at the Kurokawa Clinic until early morning on the day of her disappearance may have been that she wanted to spend the night in a secure place. Incidentally, Ms. Yajima was planning to leave Nishinari Ward, and she even asked her eldest brother if she could stay at his house for a while, saying, “Nishinari is dangerous and I want to quit. It is said that she even asked his eldest brother if she could stay at his brother’s house for a while.

Mystery 3: What was caught on the security camera?

In the “Osaka Nishinari Woman Doctor Suspicious Death Case,” it is said that the security cameras installed in the city did not capture any images of Sachiko Yajima on the day of her disappearance, which is a puzzling situation. As for the truth behind this puzzling phenomenon, there was a path that turned off to the side right next to the “Kurokawa Clinic,” and Ms. Yajima may have been abducted by the perpetrators through that route. In the “Osaka Nishinari Female Doctor Suspicious Death Case,” the police also seized security camera footage from an apartment next to Ms. Yajima’s apartment (which was located about five minutes by bicycle from the “Kurokawa Clinic”). However, the police announced that the seized security camera footage “did not show anything due to a malfunction of the equipment.” Nevertheless, the apartment manager claims that there was no malfunction. As Ms. Yajima is highly suspected of having been abducted at the “Kurokawa Clinic” in the early morning of November 14, 2009, it is highly unlikely that she was caught on the security camera in the apartment next to her apartment on the day of her disappearance.

Mystery 4: What did Dr. Kurokawa learn about the suspicious death of the Osaka Nishinari female doctor?

After the “Osaka Nishinari Female Doctor Suspicious Death Incident” occurred, there were other people besides the bereaved family who became suspicious and started their own investigation. Wataru Kurokawa, the director of the Kurokawa Clinic where Sachiko Yajima worked, was one of them, and there was a time when he was investigating the “Osaka Nishinari Female Doctor Suspicious Death Case” quite seriously using his own personal connections. However, it is said that after a certain point, Mr. Kurokawa gave up pursuing the case and stopped talking about Ms. Yajima. It is said that Mr. Kurokawa also quit his position as a commissioned doctor for a certain organization at the same time, so he may have arrived at a point close to the truth as a result of his own investigation. Incidentally, the “NPO Health Support Osaka” established by Ms. Kurokawa was a non-profit organization based in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, so it was basically an organization unrelated to the poverty business interests in the Airin area.

Mystery 5: Osaka Nishinari Woman Doctor’s Suspicious Death Case: Far-left activist who is too suspicious and self-proclaimed lover

In the “Osaka Nishinari Woman Doctor Suspicious Death Case,” even an elderly man, a self-proclaimed lover living in the Airin area, appears. The elderly man who claimed to have been in a relationship with Sachiko Yajima before her death was A, a 63-year-old activist belonging to a far-left group at the time of the incident. He was the one who received e-mails and postcards from Ms. Yajima after she disappeared from the “Kurokawa Clinic,” and he was the one who spread the suicide theory to those around him. Incidentally, the reason why A advocated Ms. Yajima’s suicide theory was because the postcard he received said, “Please live a long and healthy life. Naturally, the fact that the two had been in a relationship before his death was unknown even to Ms. Yajima’s acquaintances and bereaved family members. So, in reality, it seems that A was only one of Ms. Yajima’s former patients. As for why A suddenly started calling himself Ms. Yajima’s lover, it may be because he was on welfare at the time and wanted to make some extra money with the media. And here the self-proclaimed ex-lover man suddenly got cozy. He asked, “What’s more, how much do I get in gratuity this time? The TV station in Tokyo paid me well. That’s why I spoke up. Money is absolutely necessary to survive, you know that. I’m talking to you as a favor. And you don’t even give me a gratuity. That’s just rude. How much are you going to pay me? As for A, there is a theory on the Internet that he is a blind agent commissioned by the mastermind behind the case, but since few people would take seriously what someone so blatantly suspicious would say, he does not seem to function as an agent.

Mystery 6: Why was Yutaka Sato burned to death in the suspicious death of a female doctor in Nishinari, Osaka?

I understand that Shoko Yajima had a partner, Yutaka Sato, who had been volunteering with her. Mr. Sato may have been a former homeless man, as he was in a position where Mr. Yajima had saved his life in the past. After the incident, Mr. Sato continued to give interviews to the mass media to provide the information he knew in order to clear Ms. Yajima’s name, and he also organized a meeting to report on the incident to keep the “suspicious death of a female doctor in Nishinari, Osaka” from fading away. Naturally, there were some forces that were not pleased with her activities, and she even received threats to the extent that she felt she was in danger of death. On August 7, 2012, a fire broke out at his apartment in Hanazono-Kita, Nishinari-ku, and Mr. Sato was burnt to death at the young age of 64. There are still whispers on the Internet that Ms. Sato was assassinated by the mastermind behind the “suspicious death of a female doctor in Nishinari, Osaka.”

Mystery 7: A man cleaned Sachiko Yajima’s apartment.

As a result of an interview by a weekly magazine, the existence of a man named “B” who cleaned up Ms. Yajima’s apartment before the incident was revealed. As for B, he was a day laborer who was asked by an organization to work for 100,000 yen per day on the day of the incident. By the time B arrived at Mr. Yajima’s apartment, five people (two men and three women) had already started cleaning the room, while three of them (two men and one woman) immediately went outside. After that, B and the others spent 7 to 8 hours cleaning every book on the bookshelf, cover to cover, and as a result, the room was in a sparkling clean state where not even Ms. Yajima’s fingerprints could be detected. There was no dust in Mrs Yajima’s room (behind the TV, on the top of the bookshelf, on the door sill, on the books, etc.), and even Mr. Yajima’s fingerprints were not detected during the on-site inspection.

 ~ Thank you for reading. I believe I was being, “warned” the other day when the man in the street told me about this case and essentially told me, “this is what happens when Christians help the poor here.” I will continue to use wisdom and discretion as I minister and live in this area. Your prayers are truly vital and your support is always appreciated, thank you.

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” – Matthew 10:16

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” – Romans 1:16

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