Glico-diac
Glico: the crime that captured Japan
This is not sponsored Glico content. While true that we have looked at Glico’s biggest advertisement and their most famous product I haven’t been able to convince the Glico executives to sponsor a giant billboard of me/ Hidden Japan anywhere.
So today we will look at the biggest event in Glico’s history. A true crime thriller but be warned, this does get a little gruesome.
The Ingredients
True crime has had a bit of resurgence of late. Imagine its the 80’s instead. This is a time of a fully immersive true crime activation. True crime around every corner. Even in Japan, one of the safest spots had crime be true.
There is a fine line between crime and true crime though. For crime to fit this category, you need a few key elements, otherwise it’s just a statistic. First, a high profile victim. Now this doesn’t need to be someone previously famous, but it does need lots of media attention.
Second. A crime that has unusual elements. Could be unusual like a UFO, or slightly more usual like your run of the mill serial killer. Either way, needs to be memorable.
Third and maybe most important. The best true crimes are the unsolved cases. These are perfect for the everyday person who fancies themselves as detective. If you have an open case, then you can transform an ordinary sparkling crime into champagne.
Now does this apply to Glico? Let’s see.
Famous victim: Katsuhisa Ezaki. If that name isn’t immediately recognisable, he was the heir and president of the internationally famous Ezaki-Glico Company. Kidnapped! The non Japan equivalent would be someone capturing Willy Wonka, while the London skyline had a giant Oompa Loompa poster.
The kidnapping was already rife for the media. Poor Ezaki-san was abducted mid-bath, still naked while his family was tied up.
Unusual element: You have the ultra wealthy face of candy captured, generally that is unusual enough. Still there comes the ransom letter. By itself it is standard fare in kidnapping. So far this is not getting David Fincher treatment, but maybe a Youtube video essay. Even less favourable in the pantheon of classic crimes… well, Katsuhisa Ezaki manages to escape. While he has been captured without even the clothes on his back, he wriggles free of the ropes and bursts out into the street before day break on the third day. Yet he cannot identify his captors, having spent his time with a paper bag over the face.
Then we get the names. The criminal self titles themselves as "The Monster with 21 Faces" (かい人21面相). Which is terrific branding for any aspiring true crime antagonist, perhaps a little wordy. The crime is over though. Ezaki is free. No ransom was paid, let’s call this true crime off.
The Monster with 21 Faces (I’ll refer to him as #21Monster for a 21st Century remodel moving forward) goes a few steps beyond to make this a proper favourite of the genre.
They write to the media. Taunting the police. Sent to every Osaka newspaper- April 8th 1984, the English translation.
“To Japanese police fools Are you stupid? There’s so many of you, what on earth are you doing? If you are real pros try catching me. There’s too much handicap so I will give you a hint. There’s no fellows in the Ezaki’s relatives, there’s no fellows in Nishinomiya police, there’s no fellows in Flood fighting corps. Car I used is gray, food was bought at Daiei. If you want a new info, beg for it in the newspaper. After telling you all this you should be able to catch me. If you don’t you are tax thieves. Shall I kidnap the head director of the prefectural police?” - Sourced here
Which is a bold strategy after losing your intended captor. #21Monster, follows that old adage if at first you don’t succeed try try again. They go after Glico again. This time not the escape artist but the company.
2 days after this letter they burn Glico company vehicles in the headquarters carpark. An unidentified man is seen running away.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, hydrochloric acid is sent with another letter to the newly freed Ezaki. They demand a ransom and threaten consequences. Japanese authorities decide that the risk is too great and offer the ransom despite the self release of Ezaki. Yet the ransom doesn’t get picked up.
Without a ransom, further threats come via post. #21Monster claims to have poisoned Glico’s candies. Immediately Glico was forced to pull all stock from Japan. At first there was the idea that the media shouldn’t be sharing anything about this. There was no proof that there was any poison anywhere but wiser heads prevailed, deciding that candy shouldn’t have any risk of killing you beside the increased blood sugar and rates of heart disease.
Candy Crush Culprits
Were the police closing in on this criminal?
Just two months after the kidnapping of the president and subsequent terrorising of the company it all went quiet. Then, without any explanation, #21Monster wrote a public letter to Glico stating that all was forgiven. It must have looked mighty clear that whoever was behind this assault was finally having Officer Law looking at them.
Whoever it was, they sounded like someone had a big grudge against Glico. Employees were looked at with suspicion. Just as suspicious was the other sweet manufacturers, who seemingly had all to gain from this outsized attack on Glico’s candys.
The suspects were piling up. There were Glico employees, candy conglomerate leaders, Ezaki’s family members, well known organised criminals, and general Osakan ne’er-do-wells all investigated. Some even claimed the cops had something to do with it.
Who was really responsible for this? We might need to find out in the next article as this article is reaching capacity and the police have not gotten anywhere close to the culprit. Stay tuned for the saga of keeping up with the kidnappers.