As someone who has lost someone to suicide, I can tell you one of the things I learned from all of that is that people planning to take their own life often seem happy, at peace, and make a lot of plans that indicate they are going to be around. This often is because they have a plan in mind to do it that they are confident in, and that they are at peace knowing it will all be over soon. The plans and behavior and projects are all ways of ensuring nobody suspects anything and won’t think to try and stop them or get in the way.
Leaving a note is also pretty rare.
Yukiko…her behavior is all very in line with that type of ideation and plan, and likely outcome.

For the second case, yukiko cancelling a regular hospital appointment seems like something someone would do out of courtesy if they plan on never going back. At least to me 🤷‍♀️

the second sounds like a suicide... The hospital cancellation is not a sign that she planned to go back, since here in Japan its considered rude/shameful if you dont cancel appointments you dont intend to keep. Same with the apartment repairing, she didnt want it to be a bother when they had to check the apartment without knowing about it. And telling the mother is probably her being polite and know somewhat of the area.

My girlfriend is from Tokyo. One of her cousins went missing from Hokkaido a few years ago.

The cousin had walked from Hokkaido to Tokyo for a wedding a few weeks before they went missing. Yes, walked.

They went missing from Hokkaido, their phone left charging in their room, and their credit cards etc. all on their desk, and about a year after they went missing, their student ID was found in the mountains of Ehime. No records of them buying plane or train tickets, no CCTV records of them, absolutely nothing.

Absolutely bizarre.

for the first disappearance i feel like a north korean kidnapping sounds like a bit of a reach, especially since kenji was not in the age range of the usual targets. i think it's a lot more likely that kenji decided to play in or around the water and drowned, perhaps swept away by an undercurrent.

I do appreciate you shining a light on lesser known cases like these, even if the facts of the case are less known than more famous cases.

Hearing Robato-san say "LOL" in his serious, deadpan delivery was quite funny.

I feel like having a missing family member is worse than having a dead one because I imagine the grief is never fully gone, not saying that having a dead family member is easier but at least you know what happened to them. It's kinda scary that someone could disappear seemingly off the face of the planet but people have found dead people eventually. Like how we discovered the first humans who were here before us. And by the time that happens well..the people who once knew them might be gone too. Man this is depressing tbh.

My high school tutor was a postgraduate student in a science field while tutoring me in Tokyo.

Afterward, she got a job at a nuclear power plant and moved to Kashiwazaki, on the shore of the Sea of Japan.
She told me because the threat of kidnapping by North Korean agents, the company arranged for a driver or called a cab to take her home every evening instead of letting her drive alone.
Also, they required her to confirm her safe arrival every day.

I CLICKED IMMEDIATELY

Second case is a suicidal case. When someone is determined to end him/her self, she/he will look to be positive and enthusiastic. Just a temporary burst of happiness because she/he will leave this world and be free.

for Masatoshi I think its pretty obvious that whilst he didnt write the suicide note, he was definitely involved in its creation likely under duress. Bringing up his brother in law and leaving his laptop to him as the only thing he wanted anyone to have it just feels like something you'd tell ur kidnapper to include in the note knowing that people would look at that and question it

First case.. the fact that both boots were found together in the same location near the edge of the water makes me believe he intentionally took them off to go into the water... and he most likely drowned. The fact that the brother got that phone call is creepy.. because i dont really believe in ghosts.. however there are so.. many.. cases.. where someone who has died calls a family member somehow after death, including my own family.
After my grandfather passed away, but before any of us knew he was dead, he had called my moms cell phone. Unfortunately nobody answered, however he left a voicemail. In it, he simply says, "im better now". And nothing else...
And the creepiest part?
The phone number it says he called from, was HIS cell phone, howrver my mom at that time had his cell phone in her purse at her house.
The service was completely off on that phone.
So he wouldnt have been able to use that phone, even if he were to have somehow made that call. But again.. he had been dead days before the call was made..
My family and i drove ourselves crazy trying to come up with possible explanations..

My fav mystery/crime channel

as a number of people have said, yukiko’s case sounds like a textbook suicide. i am curious how, if that assumption is correct, the truancy event seems to have coincided with what would typically indicate a plan having been formed. i hope that these 3 souls have found peace

Nice! I get to enjoy my monday evening with a KyotoRobato video. Thanks for the upload! :face-red-heart-shape:

Return of the King!!!

On a more serious note, I hope the families of the missing have a good Obon. I imagine it's very hard to celebrate when you don't have answers or closure.

Honestly Yukiko's case sounds like she was struggling with emotional issues. To me personally it sounds like bipolar disorder in particular. Bipolar disorder is usually described as mixing periods of depression with manic episodes. This disorder in particular can go on for years unnoticed by others, usually because the depressive episodes can be seen just like seasonal depression or even boredom or uneventful periods eveyone has in their lives. Yukiko seemed to be in a manic episode sharing such enthusiasm in her latest professional activities. Also taking that trip alone without telling anyone prior and looking for "quite" places,  as someone who's been having bipolar disorder for years myself in the past, that's exactly something I'd do in my depressive episodes. It may also be that for a brief moment the manic episode was back and that's when she started contactic everyone making plans, but then something triggered her to do something drastic, I was also thinking of whether her friend replied to her message and what the reply was. Although the episodes are pretty lenghty, you can switch between them in the blink of an eye.

I'm so very glad I found this channel!  This region locked mystery thing is a sweet concept. Also... must say I love your voice haha, it's very characterful/memorable/classy/clear/etc - key factor in getting hooked on a channel for me, haha. Great work!

Poor Kenji,Yukiko and Masatoshi I hope their families get closure 😢