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Tokyo: The family of a young British woman killed in Japan a year ago urged Japanese people on Monday to help find the suspect in the murder.
Lindsay Hawker, a 22-year-old English teacher, was found dead in a bathtub full of sand on an apartment balcony near Tokyo in March 2007, in a case that horrified many in relatively crime-free Japan.
"Please find this man. Please help us find this man," William Hawker, the dead woman's father, told a news conference as he held a poster of the murder suspect.
"Someone somewhere must be hiding Ichihashi. How can he evade detection? Japan is a modern society."
Police launched a nationwide search for Tatsuya Ichihashi, who slipped away when officers arrived at the apartment to question him about Hawker, who had been reported missing.
Lisa Hawker said in Japanese during the news conference, "My sister Lindsay was a wonderful woman. Lindsay loved your country, Japan … Please don't forget what happened to her."
Earlier this month, Japanese police issued a new poster of Ichihashi, showing him as he would look disguised as a long-haired woman or with dyed blonde hair.
Video pictures of Ichihashi walking into a cafe with Hawker and travelling in the elevator in his apartment building were shown repeatedly on television last year, but no significant leads have been reported.
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