Wife Arrested After Japanese Businessman Is Found Slain

The body of a wealthy Japanese businessman has been found in a shallow grave, and his estranged wife has been arrested in his slaying, Los Angeles police said Friday.

Sanae Sakai, 51, was arrested at her hillside home in the 19000 block of Braewood Drive in Tarzana early Thursday, Officer Don Lawrence said. She was being held without bail on suspicion of murder at the Sybil Brand Institute for Women.

Police are searching for her son, Toru Sakai, 21. He was arrested in December on suspicion of murder but was released when authorities said they lacked evidence to hold him.

Police had planned to arrest the son Thursday on suspicion of murder but discovered he had disappeared, Lawrence said. “If he would have been there, he would have been picked up,” Lawrence said.

Sanae Sakai surrendered to police without resistance, Lawrence said.

Takashi (Glenn) Sakai, 54, had been missing for 10 months when his body was found in the grave off Malibu Canyon Road north of Pacific Coast Highway on Feb. 10, police said. The body was riddled with stab wounds, police said. They declined to say what led them to the grave.

Financial Records Searched

Police announced the discovery of the body and Sanae Sakai’s arrest at the same time Friday.

When her son was arrested by police Dec. 3, Sanae Sakai was detained for questioning while police searched financial records at her home. She was released later that day, and her son was freed four days later. At the time of his release, authorities said he was still under investigation.

Police said the couple had been separated several years and were involved in a legal battle over finances and their impending divorce. Sanae Sakai operated a real-estate business out of the couple’s hillside home, police said.

Authorities declined to say where Takashi Sakai was living before his disappearance. Despite his being separated from his wife, he conducted some business out of the Braewood Drive home, police said.

He was founder of the Pacific Partners investment firm in Beverly Hills and a consultant who helped Japanese companies invest in businesses in the United States. He was last seen as he left his Beverly Hills office to attend a dinner April 20. A girlfriend reported him missing the next day, police said.