HE FROZE TIME FOR 26 YEARS — SO JUSTICE COULD CATCH UP

On November 13, 1999, Namiko Takaba was stabbed to death inside her apartment in Nagoya, Japan. Her toddler was left alive. There was no forced entry. No witnesses. Only unfamiliar blood at the scene — and a woman’s footprints. At the time, Japanese forensic science couldn’t extract usable DNA. The case stalled. Worse, Japan had a 15-year statute of limitations for murder. Her husband, Satoru Takaba, refused to let the case die. He preserved the apartment exactly as it was. For 26 years, nothing was moved. Nothing cleaned. Nothing erased. In 2010, Japan abolished the statute of limitations for murder. In 2025, advanced DNA testing finally worked. It identified Kumiko Yasufuku, who confessed. Her motive wasn’t Namiko. It was obsession with Namiko’s husband. Jealousy. Resentment. Namiko was simply the reachable target. Twenty-six years later, science caught up. And patience finally met justice. How many cold cases could be solved if evidence were preserved longer?