[Please be aware that this news report may include crude details]

On the 17th, around 10:40AM a 110 call [Japanese equivalence to 911] was made that a woman was hit by a car, then beaten by a metal pipe. The woman was taken to the hospital but died shortly.

Later, the Police Station issued a statement stating the woman in the accident was the mother of singer Namie Amuro’s mother, Emiko (48) – who lived near the vicinity of the crime scene. The station is looking at this as a murder case. After some initial investigation, Emiko was run over by a vehicle several times, then beaten by a metal pipe-like object by the man who stepped off the car. It’s speculated that the man left in that very vehicle. Witnesses say the man can be identified as being Emiko’s brother-in-law [Namie’s Uncle]. The Station is looking for the suspect at this point.

According to family members, the family had plans to go on a trip and the incident occurred just subsequent to her leaving her husband’s family.

Friends of the deceased stated that, “on Sunday, there were some incidents outside of the family, but it didn’t seem as though there were problems within”. The deceased’s father-in-law said, “I first learned what the commotion was about when the Ambulance came over. I don’t know any specifics.”

The deceased, Emiko, was born and raised in Okinawa and raised Namie and her brothers and sisters while managing a small eatery.

Just last year, she published a book “A Promise : To my daughter, Namie Amuro”. Within the text, she wrote about her comments of seeing Namie on stage saying, “The daughter I bore has grown up, not only as a magnificent singer but as an adult… That happiness was worth the trials and turbulations of the past.”

For daughter, Namie, after appearing in the 1997 50th Annual NHK “Kou-haku uta gassen” gave birth to her son, Haruto, and thus took a break until she made her comeback in the 1998 51st Annual NHK “Kou-haku uta gassen”. She had just released her new CD single on the 17th – the same day as her mother’s passing.

In addition, Namie’s husband and dancer SAM (37) had just appeared on a “child-rearing project” poster with his son, Haruto, and was getting a lot of publicity.

 

SUSPECT IN MS. AMURO’S MOTHER’S DEATH, COMMITS SUICIDE

While the Okinawa Police were on the search for the suspect of singer Namie Amuro’s mother, Emiko (48), an investigater from the station found the suspect – the deceased’s brother-in-law (44) – on the 17th, approximately 1:45 PM. The investigator found the suspect, unconscious and still in his car, deep in the moutains of a nearby town. Soon after, the brother-in-law died. Inside the car, police found traces of bug killers and is speculated that the suspect ingested the bug killers to commit suicide.

Suspect was found about 5 km (approx. 3 miles) from the crime scene deep in the mountains. He was foaming from the mouth and pale in the face.

 

 

Various news reports:

Emiko TAIRA, 48, mother of pop singer Namie AMURO, was killed by her brother-in-law Kenji Taira in front of Emiko’s pub “chello” in Ohgimison, a small and peaceful village in a northern part of Okinawa main island.——— This is an updated piece of information announced on Fuji TV’s 6:00 o’clock news aired just 30 minutes before.According to this Fuji TV program, Emiko was run over three times by Kenji’s own car. The news also added, It was well known Emiko and Kenji weren’t friendly. When she was hospitalized to Kenritsu Hokubu hospital of Nago city, she had no pulse, and was already dead. Around 11:45 p.m., her doctor sentenced her death. Then, the hospital informed Rising Production of her death at 0:00 p.m., and a Rising Production staff let Namie Amuro and SAM know Emiko’s death at 1:00 p.m. When Amuro-chan knew her mother died, she looked very embarrassed. When she knew it, she stayed at a Tokyo hotel to attend an official press meeting.

On the same day of her mother’s death (March 17), Amuro’s new song (AVDD-20315) was released. At 2:00 p.m, Rising Production planed to host the official press meeting to announce her new song. However, the press conference was canceled. Knowing the tragedy, SAM and Amuro left Tokyo around 3:00 p.m., and they are going to reach the Okinawa main island around 6:40 p.m. (about 10 minutes from now).

The police said, Kenji, a suspicious person of this crime, was discovered to be in a coma, having no pluse. According to the up-to-date info, Kenji’s death was officially announced just a few minutes ago.So many Amuro fans are wondering now why such a tragedy happened to the Taira family. Many special newspaper issues are published to let all people know Emiko’s death.

 

March 17, 1999. Singer’s mother killed by relative, Yomiuri Shimbun

NAHA — The mother of popular singer Namie Amuro was killed Wednesday morning by her brother-in-law, who later committed suicide, police said. According to police, Kenji Taira, 44, struck Emiko Taira, 48, with his car and repeatedly ran over her, before attacking her with an ax at 10:40 a.m. on a road in Ogimison, Okinawa Prefecture. She was rushed to a prefectural hospital in Nago, but was pronounced dead at 11:48 a.m., police said. The brother-in-law was found dead in his car at about 1:45 p.m. in woods on a mountain about six kilometers from the scene of the attack, according to police. They said he had used poison to kill himself. Sources close to the family said that Emiko Taira and her husband had constant money-related problems with Kenji, who lived only 10 meters away from the couple.

The attack occurred as Emiko was walking with her husband, Tatsunobu, along a road, according to police. After hitting her with the car and running over the prone victim several times, the brother-in-law reportedly got out of the car and struck her with an ax, police said. The husband reportedly fought back with a steel pipe. As neighbors gathered at the scene, the brother-in-law managed to flee in his car and headed for nearby mountains, police said. Before leaving home, he reportedly had told his daughter, a high school student, that he was going off to die. Amuro, 21, was informed soon after her mother’s death by the president of her talent agency at a Tokyo hotel. Although she had been scheduled to announce a new commercial at the hotel, she immediately canceled all plans and headed for Okinawa Prefecture on JAL Flight 907, which left Haneda airport at 3:55 p.m. She arrived at the airport at 3:40 p.m. in a state of shock, and needed support by her husband and agency staff to walk.

Amuro, a native of Okinawa, made her singing debut in 1992 as a vocalist with the pop group Super Monkeys. She went solo in 1995 and has since built up a huge following among teenage girls, who copy her style of dress. Amuro married Masaharu Maruyama known as SAM, the lead dancer of pop group TRF, in October 1997, and gave birth to a son in May last year. After taking a year off, she resumed her career with an emotional performance on NHK’s Red and White Song Contest on New Year’s Eve. In September last year, her mother published a book describing the hardships she experienced in raising three children after divorcing her husband as well as episodes from her daughter’s rise to stardom.

 

March 19, 1999. Police dub ‘Amuro’ killer lovesick, Mainichi Daily News

Naha (Okinawa) — Police, investigating the killing of pop singer Namie Amuro’s mother, said on Thursday that her brother-in-law attacked her apparently because she and her husband had been opposed to his association with a local woman. Okinawan Police believe that a conflict over the woman between Kenji Taira, 44, and the couple was the motive for the brutal killing of Amuro’s mother by Kenji on Wednesday. Police officials say Kenji began dating the woman in 1996. But Amuro’s mother, Emiko Taira, 48, and her husband opposed their association because the woman apparently didn’t want to marry him. As a result, Kenji’s relationship with the woman deteriorated in 1997. Kenji, a construction worker, was found unconscious in his car on Wednesday. Police believe he committed suicide after allegedly killing Amuro’s mother.

 

March 19, 1999. Nikkan Sports Shimbun
Private funeral service of Emiko Taira will be held on March 20 1999.
date/time: March 20/ 2:00 p.m.
place: Daitenji (Daiten Temple)— address: Matsuyama 1-9-1, Naha city, Okinawa, Japan—-tel: 098-868-3491
The funeral’s chief mourner: Mitsuteru Amuro (25)

Basically, this funeral service is private. Even if you send a telegram to this temple, the telegram may not be accepted. As the telephone line would be busy for their private calls, don’t phone to the temple. The press will also call the temple very often. Namie Amuro now stays at a house of her brother Mitsuteru (locating in Chatan town). According to Rising Production, Amuro will stay in Okinawa until March 22, and return to Tokyo, and begin doing her singer jobs again on March 23.

 

Additional facts:

– Amuro canceled all promotional activities and rushed to Okinawa. She could not obtain flight tickets immediately since there were many school trip excursions at this time of the year. Without this incident, she was supposed to head to Okinawa on the 20th to visit governor Inamine Keiichi.

– Media rushed to Haneda Airport to take photos of Amuro Namie. SAM protected her from them. From this point, Amuro did not show any tear in front of the press.

– Media presented Taira Emiko’s book “Promise” dedicated to her daughter as a Cinderella story. People rushed to bookstores and after 60 000 copies were sold, the book went out of stock.

– MAX arrived in Okinawa after the funerals to support Amuro Namie.

– Komuro Tetsuya, who was giving a concert in Sendai, added to his setlist “Don’t wanna cry” that he played on the piano in homage to Amuro’s mother. He arrived the next day in Okinawa.

– Official reports by media say that Amuro cried during the funerals and almost fainted at the crematorium. Her elder sister was in tears all along. Their father, Mr. Amuro, and their step-father, Mr. Taira, were both present.

– Amuro Namie had recorded several performances of RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE before the incident. NHK Pop Jam decided to cut her part while Utaban left it. Asahi drink’s “nice One” CM stopped being aired during 10 days.

– Amuro immediately received several letters and mails of encouragement after the incident. She commented: “I have talked with my bereaved family, my older brother and older sister. I will try to do my best in my work, which is mother’s wish.”

– Amuro Namie appeared for the first time on television after the incident on March 29th during Fuji Television “Hey! Hey! Hey! Music CHamp”. She was warmly cheered by the audience. As her hosts looked tensed after giving her an award, she commented: “I am sorry, I was worried. I am fine.” Many  were impressed by her professionalism and her strength after she sang RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE with smiles and blinks to the audience.

– In January 2000, Amuro commented on her official website she had seriously been thinking of retiring, but she was encouraged by the warm messages of her fans and finally decided to pursue her career. She added: “At that time, I was singing ‘RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE. Should have it been any other song, I would have cried and not been able to sing.”

– The singer has seldomly talked about the incident. In 1999, she answered to JUNON about the mass media that she had disliked them, but that she was okay now. If she had been alone, she would not have been able to tolerate it, but her child’s smile saved her. In 2005, she also explained to The Japan Times: “During my grief, I realised there was nothing I could do for my mother, but I did have a child. I began to think more like a mother myself, and to become positive in my work again.”

– Amuro had a tatoo on her left arm saying:
JUN.30 in 1950
my mother’s love live will me
Eternally in my heart
R.I.P.
MAR.17 in 1999

– Amuro Namie left a message in English to her mother on the last page of ‘Live Style 2006’ pamphlet.