這起震撼日本社會長達26年的命案，發生於1999年11月13日，地點位於名古屋市一處普通的出租公寓。受害者是當時年僅32歲的女性高羽奈美子，她在家中被人殘忍刺殺身亡，現場血跡斑斑、滿地打鬥痕跡。而她年僅2歲的兒子航平雖然目睹整個兇案過程，卻奇蹟般地倖存下來。這起案件因兇手遲遲未被逮捕而成為名古屋警方心中的「懸案之痛」，更因死者丈夫高羽悟驚人的堅持與愛，最終成為日本刑偵史上最特殊的一段故事。

案發當時，警方立即展開大規模搜查。由於現場並無強烈入室搶劫或性侵痕跡，警方懷疑兇手與受害者可能相識。但受限於1990年代末期日本的DNA檢測技術落後，加上現場指紋、血跡等物證無法有效比對，調查最終陷入瓶頸。多年來，警方走訪超過10萬1千名相關人員，並先後鎖定過5千多名嫌疑人，但案件仍無突破，最終被列為懸案。

最令人動容的，是死者的丈夫高羽悟。他拒絕接受「無法破案」的命運，為了保留最真實的犯罪現場證據，竟在案發後繼續租下妻子遇害的公寓整整26年。他不但未搬離，還以極近乎偏執的方式維持現場原貌——牆上的血跡、地板上的腳印、打鬥的痕跡都未曾清理。這些細節至今仍保存完好。據媒體報導，他在這期間已投入超過2000萬日圓的租金與維護費，只為讓警方能在科技進步後重新檢驗證據。

這份執著終於在2025年迎來結果。隨著DNA比對技術的飛躍，警方在重新檢測現場樣本後，成功鎖定一名女性嫌犯——69歲的安福久美子。她與高羽悟竟是高中同學，但高羽悟對她「幾乎沒有印象」。經警方長時間審問後，安福最終承認自己便是當年的兇手。警方透露，殺人動機屬於私人情感糾葛，但具體細節並未對外公布。

案件破獲後，日本愛知縣警方於2025年10月31日召開記者會正式對外通報，並稱這是「一場跨越四分之一世紀的人性與時間的戰鬥」。警方感嘆，高羽悟的堅持在破案過程中發揮了關鍵作用，如果沒有他長年保存的現場證據，案件可能永遠無法重啟。

當媒體問及破案後的心情時，現年58歲的高羽悟語氣平靜地表示：「現在我終於可以打掃房間了。」這句話既是對亡妻的告慰，也是對他26年堅持的結束。他的故事在日本社會引起強烈迴響，許多網民感嘆這是「一個被時間與愛撐起的奇蹟」，也反思司法與科技延遲下，真相如何被一個普通人用生命守護。

這樁「名古屋高羽命案」如今不僅是刑偵史的傳奇，更成為日本社會討論「執著、記憶與正義」的象徵。高羽悟那間26年未曾清掃的公寓，成見證真愛與時間耐力的最悲傷紀念碑。

This extraordinary case from Japan, which haunted investigators for 26 years, began on November 13, 1999, in a quiet apartment in Nagoya. The victim, Namiko Takaha, was a 32-year-old woman brutally stabbed to death in her rented home. Her two-year-old son, Kohei, was present during the murder but miraculously survived. The case quickly became one of Nagoya’s most haunting unsolved crimes—yet it was the victim’s husband, Satoru Takaha, whose unimaginable perseverance would eventually help bring justice after more than two decades.

At the time of the murder, police launched a massive investigation. Because there were no clear signs of robbery or sexual assault, detectives suspected the killer knew the victim personally. However, forensic technology in the late 1990s was limited. DNA and fingerprint evidence collected from the scene could not identify a match, and the case soon went cold. Over the following decades, investigators interviewed more than 101,000 people and narrowed down over 5,000 potential suspects, yet none led to an arrest.

Refusing to give up, Namiko’s husband Satoru made a decision that stunned both the police and the public. He chose to continue renting the apartment where his wife was killed—for 26 years—without ever cleaning or altering the crime scene. He preserved every trace of that horrific day: the bloodstains on the walls, the footprints on the floor, and the signs of struggle remained untouched. Over the years, Satoru spent more than 20 million yen (about 1.02 million RMB) in rent and upkeep, all in the hope that future forensic advances might one day reveal the killer’s identity.

That moment finally came in 2025. With the help of modern DNA analysis, police reexamined samples collected from the original scene and identified a match: 69-year-old Kumiko Yasufuku. Shockingly, she turned out to be Satoru’s former high school classmate, though he later admitted he had little memory of her. Under interrogation, Yasufuku eventually confessed to the murder. Police said the motive stemmed from personal emotional issues, though details have not been made public.

On October 31, 2025, police in Aichi Prefecture officially announced that the 26-year-old case had been solved. Investigators praised Satoru’s extraordinary persistence, saying that without his decision to preserve the crime scene, crucial evidence might have been lost forever. One officer reportedly said, “He was incredibly resilient—his endurance kept this case alive.”

When asked by reporters how he felt now that the case was solved, Satoru responded quietly:

“Now, I can finally clean the room.”

Those simple words carried 26 years of grief, love, and relief. His devotion has deeply moved people across Japan, sparking widespread reflection on perseverance, justice, and the passage of time.

The “Nagoya Takaha Murder Case” has since become more than a solved crime—it stands as a poignant testament to human endurance and love. That small apartment, left untouched for a quarter of a century, is now remembered not just as a crime scene, but as a monument to faith, memory, and the relentless pursuit of truth.