Pachinko company president murdered

The president of Nagoya-based pachinko machine maker Takao, Masaki Uchigashima, 39, was found stabbed to death on the morning of October 25 in the company parking garage. It is believed that he was attacked and killed while leaving the company in the early morning hours. His body wasn’t discovered until a company security guard found him at about 7:30 am as the new work day was dawning.

Physical evidence suggests that it was a shockingly brutal crime, with Uchigashima attempting to defend himself while being stabbed repeatedly, eventually collapsing into a pool of his own blood. His briefcase, mobile phone, and a knife were found beside the body.

The murderer and his motives are not known at this time, but security cameras suggest that it was a man in a mask who scaled a fence to enter the premises.

One line of investigation is that Uchigashima was involved in a separate incident in the Philippines last year in which his car was hit by gunfire and the other passenger in the car, also the president of a pachinko company, was killed.

The company Takao was founded in 1979 and has about 220 employees. Uchigashima had been promoted to the position of president in June 2016.

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