Lindsay's murder 'has shamed Japan'

Britain's most senior diplomat in Japan has urged the country's people to aid the hunt for the killer of Lindsay Ann Hawker.

Graham Fry, the British Ambassador, said the 22-year-old's death had shocked and saddened the entire community.

At a press conference at the British Embassy, he read a statement by her father, Bill Hawker, who said the murder had "brought shame" to Japan and appealed for help.

Mr Fry said: "Lindsay's tragic death has saddened and shocked us all. We are grateful that the Japanese authorities are doing all they can, but they will need the help of the Japanese public to catch the criminal. So I echo the appeal of Lindsay's father: anyone who can help, please, please come forward."

Miss Hawker's badly beaten body was found in a bath of sand on the balcony of a flat in Ichikawa, east of Tokyo. The prime suspect is Tatsuya Ichihashi, 28, who fled the apartment when police arrived and who had asked Miss Hawker for English lessons.

In his statement, Mr Hawker said: "My daughter loved this country. She loved meeting Japanese people and thought of Japan as an honourable society.

"My daughter's killer has now brought shame on your country. He must be caught, he cannot be allowed to hide away. The Japanese police are making every possible effort to catch him. I still respect this country and its people.

"I know you place great importance on family and community links, so as a father I appeal to you: if anyone can help the police to find my daughter's killer, I beg you to come forward."

The body of Miss Hawker, from Brandon near Coventry, was found on Monday. Police later said she had been beaten and strangled. It was not known if the English language teacher had been sexually assaulted. Ichihashi first approached Miss Hawker about possible English lessons on March 21.

Japanese police said she had allowed Ichihashi into her flat after he followed her home from a railway station. She later agreed to give him an English lesson at his home on Sunday. She was reported missing the following day by her employer the Nova language school. Miss Hawker's father Bill and her boyfriend Ryan Garside travelled to Japan to formally identify her body and to make arrangements to return her to the UK. Mr Hawker vowed that he "would not rest" until his daughter's killer is found.