Suspect Disliked Opinions of Nagoya Murder Victim’s Husband

From Jiji

November 14 2025

NAGOYA – The suspect in the 1999 murder of a Nagoya housewife has told police that she disliked the way the victim’s husband thought about women and child-rearing, investigative sources said Friday. 
   On the same day, the Nagoya District Public Prosecutors Office obtained court approval for a psychiatric examination to determine whether Kumiko Yasufuku, 69, who was arrested late last month in connection with the alleged murder, had criminal responsibility at the time of the incident.
   Prosecutors apparently believe that if indicted, her mental capacity will be a key point of contention at trial.
   The prosecutors office is expected to decide whether to indict the suspect based on the results of the psychiatric examination by experts, which usually takes several months.
   Yasufuku is suspected of stabbing Namiko Takaba, 32, to death in the neck and other parts of her body in a room on the second floor of an apartment in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, on Nov. 13, 1999. Her detention period was set to end on Nov. 21. The suspect was a high school classmate of Takaba’s husband, Satoru, 69.