The Daily Populous Saturday July 11st, 2026 day edition
Authored by independent.co.uk and submitted by TheM1ghtyBear

Your support helps us to tell the story Read more Support Now From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more

A Japanese woman was arrested for allegedly sewing shut the lips of another woman she was living with, causing injuries that left her unable to eat or speak.

Masae Sakurai, 49, a part-time worker, was arrested on Monday in Koga, a city in Ibaraki prefecture northeast of Tokyo, over the alleged attack on her 42-year-old roommate.

Police said Ms Sakurai used a needle and thread to sew the woman’s lips together at around 1.30pm local time on 29 June. They did not disclose whether Ms Sakurai had admitted to the allegations, but announced they were investigating the motive and circumstances behind the assault. They were also investigating the relationship between the two women.

The victim escaped the house at around 1.30pm the following day while Ms Sakurai was out, Japan Today reported. Wearing a white face mask, she ran to a nearby shop and handed a staff member a note reading “Please help me”, as she was unable to speak because of her injuries. The employee alerted police.

The woman later told police fear of Ms Sakurai had prevented her from fleeing sooner. “I was afraid of Sakurai, so I couldn’t escape right away,” she said.

The two women had been living together at Ms Sakurai’s house since around April 2025, Kyodo News reported. Police said other people had been staying at the property as well and they were questioning them as part of the investigation.

Officers were considering the possibility that some of them were present during the incident.

Acquaintances of Ms Sakurai told local broadcaster TV Asahi that she had a history of allowing people who had left their homes to stay with her and had helped some find work, suggesting that several people might have lived at the house at different times, according to a report by The Straits Times.

chosonhawk on July 10th, 2026 at 23:29 UTC »

theres STFU and theres this.

cydril on July 10th, 2026 at 20:21 UTC »

Japan has the weirdest crimes

Buck_Thorn on July 10th, 2026 at 16:00 UTC »

I'll wait until I see what sites like Snopes have to say about it. At least that story has a few more details than the ones I saw yesterday, but none have explained how it happened. Was she drugged?