Yoshio Kodaira was one of two serial slayers using the same MO operating
in Japan at the same time, in the final days of World War II in the Pacific theater of
operations. He was a rapist who disposed of witnesses to his crimes. In this chapter
Kodaira was described and the crimes discussed. The MO, motive, number of victims,
victimology, victims and time frame of these murders were analyzed. The investigation
into Kodaira’s murders was considered, and the trial and execution described.
Keywords: Associated Press, Bluebeard, China, Imperial Japanese Navy, Japan,
Japan Times Online, Japanese Supreme Court, Yoshio Kodaira, Shizo Koguchi,
Necrophile, Rape, Reuters, Second Sino-Japanese War, Shinto priest, Tochigi
Prefecture, Tokyo, Tokyo Year Zero, U.S. Army, War crimes, World War II.
