The person who murdered a family of four in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward in late December wore a British brand of sneakers manufactured in South Korea, police said Friday.
Police believe these shoes are the same model as those worn by the Setagaya family murderer.The police have been unable to identify a domestic retailer that sells the brand of shoe, in that size, 28 cm, they said.
Dozens of partial footprints were found at the victims' house, the site of the murder.
Although police only had partial prints, eventually they were able to confirm the actual size of the shoe after matching the prints with shoes ordered from South Korea, they said.
Police have found only one Japanese importer of the South Korean-made shoes, but the Osaka-based firm bought the shoes only in sizes between 25 cm and 27 cm.
The shoes are produced by a South Korean manufacturer that has a contract with the British company; the British shoe company has not made the products for two decades.
It was reported earlier that the murderer wore a 25 cm size shoe.