Sources say the family of a man arrested on suspicion of abandoning his former girlfriend's body near Tokyo had contacted police after she went missing. The family reportedly said that he may have killed her.



The police did not disclose this information to the victim's family on May 3 in an explanation of their actions. They claimed they refrained from making it public to avoid any potential impact on their investigation.



The police arrested 27-year-old Shirai Hideyuki on suspicion of abandoning the body of former girlfriend Okazaki Asahi at his home in Kawasaki City.



The 20-year-old part-timer went missing in December last year after she had complained about being stalked by Shirai.



Shortly after her disappearance, the police interviewed Shirai seven times on a voluntary basis until March. He reportedly admitted to stalking Okazaki.



Sources say his family told the police in mid-January of his possible involvement in the case.



The police said they proceeded with the investigation but were unable to find clues due to the vagueness of the family's testimony.



NHK interviewed Kurihara Kayomi, the head of a non-profit organization supporting stalking victims and rehabilitating offenders. She said the police should have taken seriously the information provided by the suspect's family and searched his home much sooner.



She pointed out that an offender's family sometimes hides information or protects them, so this case is quite rare.



Kurihara said that it is extremely regrettable that the police had not acted swiftly, given the many critical opportunities and clues.



She went on to say that if the police had a better understanding of the psychology of stalkers or victims, they could have responded differently.