Woman arrested in Japan after allegedly sewing housemate's lips shut

The woman could not speak.

So she wrote two words.

“Please help.”

Wearing a white face mask to hide her injuries, she walked into a nearby shop in Japan’s Ibaraki Prefecture and handed the note to an employee. Police say that was how a disturbing assault inside a shared home finally came to light.

Authorities have arrested 49-year-old Masae Sakurai on suspicion of assault after she allegedly sewed together the lips of her 42-year-old housemate with a needle and thread. Police believe the attack happened on June 29 at the home where the two women had been living.

The victim escaped the next afternoon, while Sakurai was away.

Unable to speak, she sought help at a nearby shop the next day. A staff member contacted police.

Investigators are trying to establish what happened inside the house, who else may have been present and whether the alleged assault followed months of intimidation.

The victim had reportedly been staying with Sakurai since around April 2025 and later told police she had been too frightened to leave earlier.

The case has unsettled local residents because of the nature of the alleged attack and what police are now learning about the home.

People who knew Sakurai told local media she had allowed vulnerable people, including those who had run away from home or had nowhere else to stay, to live at the property. Some said she also helped residents find work.

Police are questioning other occupants believed to have been living there around the time of the alleged assault.

They have not said whether Sakurai has admitted to the allegation. Authorities also have not indicated whether anyone else was involved.

For now, much of the case remains under investigation.

But the way it emerged has already drawn wider attention in Japan: a woman walking silently into a shop, her mouth covered, carrying the only thing she could use to ask for help — a handwritten note.