Subscribe

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan — Air Force investigators announced Thursday they are seeking information about the death of a local Japanese woman whose body was found July 21 in the trunk of a burning car in Hachinohe city.

The victim, Naomi Kimura, 33, owned a downtown Misawa bar frequented by foreigners.

Base spokesman Maj. John Redfield said Japanese police asked Misawa’s Office of Special Investigations (OSI) to help inform the base population that anyone who might have information about the case should come forward.

“Whenever there are issues that affect the welfare of our community, on and off base, we want to help in any way we can,” he was quoted in a written statement as saying.

A Misawa police spokesman confirmed Thursday that police asked the base for cooperation. “Misawa is a military base town and those people are not just living on base but also go off base,” he said.

Kimura’s body was found last Friday after her burning car was discovered on a stretch of railroad track in Hachinohe, about 15 miles south of Misawa. Japanese police have not released the victim’s cause of death.

According to local news reports, Kimura last was seen around 2:30 a.m. July 20, when she reportedly left her bar with a female bar employee and a man who appeared to be an American male in his 20s.

Police have not disclosed the name of the bar. No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call OSI at DSN 226-4486 or DSN 226-3116.

Sign Up for Daily Headlines

Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets from around the world.

Sign Up Now