Japan’s sewage system of old is nowhere near the technologically-advanced toilets you see today. Back then, it merely comprised a septic tank which stored human excretion for later transportation.
However, on 28th February 1989, a female teacher in Miyakoji Village, Fukushima, found more than just human waste in her single-room dormitory’s U-shaped septic tank. In fact, she found a human body.
The body belonged to a topless man. He was found in a fetal position hugging his own clothes, with his face facing the toilet hole. A shoe was placed beside his head, while his other shoe was found at a faraway river bank.
Because of how small the openings of the septic tank were, the police had difficulty retrieving the body, to the point where they had to cut the septic tank in order to do so.
The victim was later identified as the 26-year-old Naoyuki Kanno. He was reported missing on 24th February, four days before the discovery of his body. Reports revealed that he died on 26th February.
In the end, the case was dismissed as a case of peeping. Police believed that Naoyuki entered the septic tank to look at women relieving themselves, only to accidentally die of hypothermia. However, many villagers found the verdict unacceptable as the victim, who participated actively in many village events, was known to be an amiable person.
Moreover, given his position in the tank, it is likely that the man entered head-first – there was no way he could have turned around within the cramped 125cm x 47cm tank. Logically, this is an unnatural way for someone to enter a septic tank voluntarily. The other piece of evidence pointing towards foul play was his shoe, which was found far away from the crime scene.
https://thesmartlocal.jp/japan-unsolved-mysteries/
