A female livestreamer was attacked while broadcasting live on the street, witnessed by thousands of netizens.
On March 11, 2025, near JR Takadanobaba Station in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, 22-year-old popular livestreamer Ai Mogami was broadcasting a hiking challenge on the Yamanote Line. Suddenly, the camera shook violently, accompanied by screams, and her phone fell to the ground. A few minutes later, a masked face appeared on screen. By the time the ambulance arrived, Ai Mogami had already passed away. Police arrested 42-year-old Kenichi Takano at the scene; he used a 13-centimeter-long survival knife.
Ai Mogami's real name was Airi Sato, and her fans called her Ai-chan. She had a mushroom-shaped haircut with bangs, was lively and cute, and was once very popular. She had faded from the online scene a year ago for personal reasons, and this comeback was very important to her. On the day of the incident, she started broadcasting in the morning, interacting enthusiastically with her fans. No one expected that tragedy would suddenly strike.
Kenichi Takano was an ordinary office worker, working in sales at an anime figure company. He was taciturn, unmarried, and lived alone. Several years ago, late one night, he stumbled upon Ai's live stream and became a loyal fan. Ai had just turned 18 and was starting her live streaming career, launching a "donate 400,000 yen to add her as a friend" campaign. After donating more than the target, Takano Kenichi successfully added Ai on LINE.
From then on, their relationship seemed to grow closer. Ai confided in Takano about her "difficulties": she had a troublesome older sister who was heavily in debt, and she was working tirelessly, even taking on part-time jobs at clubs, all to help her sister pay off her debts. Takano felt a surge of protectiveness, believing he was Ai's only support. In August 2022, he met Ai in person for the first time—at a club in Yamagata City where she worked part-time. To support her offline sales, Takano often drove from Tochigi Prefecture to see her after work.
However, in the interrogation room, Takano Kenichi told the police that Ai owed him 2.5 million yen. That wasn't a donation; it was money Ai had personally borrowed from him.
Their financial entanglement began in early 2022. Xiao Ai borrowed money from Takano under various pretexts: her wallet was lost, she was forced to spend 100,000 yen on champagne, her living expenses were zero… Takano almost always obliged. Chat logs show that Xiao Ai frequently sent messages late at night, her tone shifting from "no money, no money" to "this is the last time." Takano's savings were quickly depleted, and Xiao Ai even suggested he take out a loan at exorbitant interest rates. When Takano hesitated, Xiao Ai sent a message: "Without Takano, I couldn't survive. Thank you so much, I love you the most." This sentence completely captivated Takano.
He forged income statements and borrowed money from two institutions, transferring it all to Xiao Ai. But Xiao Ai was still not satisfied and demanded he find a third. Takano refused the first time. After incurring the burden of high-interest loans, his life became increasingly difficult, sometimes requiring help from friends to afford food. When he asked Xiao Ai when she would repay the money, she remained silent, made excuses, and finally symbolically repaid 30,000 yen before completely blocking him.
Kenichi Takano returned to his livestream and frequently left messages in the chat demanding that Ai repay her debts. Other viewers gave him the sarcastic nickname "True Love Bro." He posted the chat logs online, and another fan messaged him saying they had the same experience. Subsequently, more dirt was revealed: Ai was not an innocent girl at all; she was a regular at host clubs, spending money like water; she actually had parents, her mother being an alcoholic; she also had a child, who was taken away by a child protection agency because she often forgot to pick him up from daycare. The story of the "older sister" she mentioned was actually about herself.
Faced with the revelations, Ai remained silent and refused to repay the money. Takano hired a lawyer and won the case in court. However, Ai never appeared in court, and the court's enforcement notice sent to her old address went unanswered. She moved in with her young IT company president boyfriend, living a lavish lifestyle, showing off her diamond ring and travels on social media. Takano, however, borrowed money everywhere to repay his debts, and the snowball effect grew larger and larger. When the court seized Ai's bank account, only 800 yen remained.
After Xiao Ai returned to live streaming, her monthly income recovered to 1-2 million yen, but she continued to ignore Takano's debt collection messages. During one live stream, Takano, using an ID already familiar to his fans, tipped her the minimum 5 yen. Xiao Ai glanced at it and said, "Disgusting."
Before the incident, Takano Kenichi heard that Xiao Ai was going to do a hiking challenge on the Yamanote Line and felt his opportunity had arrived. He brought a knife and found her while watching her live stream. Initially, he only wanted to force her to repay the money in person, but long-suppressed resentment and anger instantly overwhelmed his reason. By the time Takano came to his senses, Xiao Ai was already lying on the ground.
Later, Xiao Ai's boyfriend, Yui Daiki, started live streaming online, but he didn't seem to care much about Xiao Ai's death. After netizens investigated him, they discovered that half of Xiao Ai's live streaming income went directly to Yui Daiki's company account. After Yui took the lion's share, the remaining money wasn't even enough to cover rent. It was also Yui Daiki who instigated Xiao Ai to borrow money from fans to cover his company's losses.
Two months after the incident, Kenichi Takano was charged with murder. Ai was hastily cremated at a Tokyo crematorium without a grand farewell ceremony, or even a funeral. Daiki Yui emerged unscathed from the scandal. Ai's social media profile still displays the phrase "I've turned around and come back to life," a statement that now seems ironic. She truly exploited her fans' affection, weaving a web that not only ensnared Kenichi Takano but also destroyed herself.
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