Human Monsters: Gen and Hiroko, the Dog Lover Murders

(Originally published in Fringe! China’s Mango Cult)

Left, Sekine Gen. Right, Kazama Hiroko.

Kumagaya city, Japan, Saitama Prefecture. A man was angrily driving back to a dog kennel, his two new pets in the backseat. He had paid over 11 million yen, what would be nearly 100,000 dollars today, for two Rhodesian Ridgebacks. What he had received instead were two old dogs of mixed breed. The couple that had sold the dogs to him had promised a full refund, and he was on his way to collect. His name was Kawasaki Akio, and he was never seen alive again. 

The Dog Lover Murders was the name given to a rash of serial killings from 1996 committed by killer couple Sekine Gen and Kazama Hiroko. Gen and Hiroko ran a rather successful dog breeding business out of their shop, Africa Kennel. The two were incredibly greedy, however, and it wasn't long before they started running an old scam to help line their pockets. 

First, one of them would go out and scout a mark—a friend of a friend who had some money, a person they knew but weren't well known to. Then, they would approach with a deal. An investment opportunity had just fallen into their lap, and they were looking to share the wealth. Often, it would be a stake in the dog shop itself or, like for poor Kawasaki Akio, they would sell the unsuspecting mark what they claimed to be rare dog breeds. These would turn out to be either mutts or dogs so old they could never hope to recoup the investment.

Akio had been in the sanitation business and was looking to branch out when Hiroko came to him with what seemed a golden opportunity. She had two Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies, dogs that she claimed were worth nearly 80,000 dollars. He could buy the pair, breed them, and sell the pups at a profit. When he found out he had been scammed, not only were the dogs, not Ridgebacks, but that breed would never even sell for close to that price even if they were; he demanded his money back. Money that Gen and Hiroko did not want to give up. 

A Rhodesian Ridgeback, the breed of dog used in the scam.

It is here that a difference in culture between East and West may need a bit of explanation. In Eastern culture, it is considered rude to refuse a gift from an elder. Now, one would think this may not apply if these elders had scammed you out of thousands of dollars, but when Gen offered Akio a vitamin tablet, the young man accepted and took the pill. 

Strychnine poisoning is a horrible way to die. Within the first few minutes, the muscles begin to spasm. Soon, an extreme form of tetanus sets in, and the body contorts, seizes up, and the joints lock. Imagine the worst muscle cramp but in every muscle. The brain would bleed, muscles so tight the lungs couldn't breathe, and death came quick for the lucky. The pill contained a lethal dose. As Gen and Hiroko watched Akio die, someone else walked in. 

Yamazaki, a part-time employee the pair had hired, arrived unscheduled to check on the dogs and witnessed the murder. Gen attacked the young man. As Yamazaki begged for his life, Hiroko intervened on his behalf. Yamazaki agreed to let Gen use his bathtub to help dispose of Akio's body; in exchange, he would be spared. 

Sekine Gen was a cruel and malicious man. He set about carving Akio's body into small chunks; the bones and clothes were then burned down to ash in a barrel. With the ashes, he spread them out in some bit of forest, but the meat, now that is where things get truly gruesome. Gen had developed quite a reputation around town, but not for his dogs.

He would often share meals with members of the yakuza, he bragged that he had killed over thirty men, and was quoted as saying, "I should be awarded the gold medal for murder." Gen was known to share venison sandwiches despite never going hunting. He would later claim that he fed the chopped-up human flesh to fish in various ponds; police suspect that he did, in fact, serve human meat to people in his neighborhood.   

While Gen was dismembering and dispersing Akio's body, an old friend of his was watching from a distance. Endo Yasutoshi and his driver had always witnessed the pair's crime and were looking to profit. Yasuthoshi had been one of the yakuza members Gen was known to share a meal with. But now that he had something over the man, that friendship meant nothing.

Yasuthoshi blackmailed Gen and Hiroko. He wanted the shop and its land. The couple invited him and Susumu, his driver, over to discuss the terms. Once again, unbelievably, both men agreed to take one of Gen's pills. Yasuthoshi died within minutes, but Susumu seemed unaffected. In a panic, Gen was able to convince him to come along and call for an ambulance. Gen led the man around the building until the drug kicked in.  

With three bodies disposed of, Gen's mind began to wander. How good of an answer was murder to the problems in his life? Sekiguchi Mitsue, his mistress, had become a problem in need of an answer. He convinced her to invest an unknown amount of money into Africa Kennel and poisoned her the same day she delivered it. 

There is some speculation that money was not the motivation for this crime but rather passion. Gen committed this murder on his own, with Hiroko knowing nothing about it. Had those dog lover killings brought Gen closer to his ex-wife? Maybe enough to make sure his mistress was out of the way. 

Akio's family did not take his sudden disappearance lying down. They filed a missing persons case with local authorities, who pretty quickly honed in on Gen and Hiroko. However, other than Akio's car being found nearby, the police had little evidence. They did note that people kept disappearing around Gen and kept him as a person of interest. 

Then, on January 26, 1994, an odd series of events occurred that would spell doom for the killer couple's hope of a clean getaway. Miles away in Osaka, another rash of dog lover killings had occurred, and an arrest had been made. This caused more pressure on the local police to find the missing people in Saitama.  

This pressure led to loose lips at the police line, and it didn't take long for the press to get enough information to point them straight to Gen. The one man all connections led back to. After reporters began sniffing around, Yamazaki, the unwilling accomplice, cracked. He was caught trying to flee with his wife. He confessed, and with that confession, Gen and Hiroko were arrested on January 5, 1995. They were both convicted and sentenced to death for the four murders, but Gen is suspected of having committed many more. Yamazaki, having been a victim himself in a way, was only given three years for helping dispose of the bodies. 

It was after their conviction that a young monk named Miki realized just how lucky he was. Miki had attended university not far from Africa Kennels, back before the dog lover murders. He remembered Gen had offered him a job walking dogs and a can of coffee. Miki had taken one of the cans but considered against taking the job. 

Miki encountered Gen two more times, and each time, the young monk was offered a can of coffee. Gen would later say in an interview how surprised he was that the young monk had picked the correct can every time. The others had been poisoned.

Sources
[James Balmont (The Lineup)- “The Saitama Dog Lover Murders”; Youtube: Dark Asia with Megan]

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He would often share meals with members of the yakuza, he bragged that he had killed over thirty men, and was quoted as saying, "I should be awarded the gold medal for murder."