A Japanese businessman reported missing in Thailand by his concerned mother has been found to have died in Chiang Mai last year, according to Pol Maj Gen Nopasilp Poolsawat, the deputy Bangkok police chief. However, many questions still surround the circumstances of Takahiro Nishi’s death and his activities leading up to it.
Takahiro Nishi, who had been charged with embezzlement in Bangkok but jumped bail in 2020, was found to have died from a lung infection at a house in Chiang Mai’s San Sai district. His death was reported by a Thai woman to the San Sai police station on June 8 last year. An autopsy confirmed the cause of death, and no signs of foul play or struggle were found at the scene.
Despite this, investigators are puzzled by several unresolved issues. For instance, someone used Nishi’s email account shortly after his death to contact his mother, Yoshimi Nishi, 66, asking for more money. Additionally, one of Nishi’s credit cards was used as recently as last month to pay for food and a hotel reservation from July 4-6 this year.
Nishi’s mother had last heard from him on June 21 last year, when he requested an additional 300,000 yen for medical treatment. She had previously sent him one million yen after he informed her via the Line app on June 29, 2020, that he was seriously ill.
Nishi and a friend had been accused of embezzling money from a Bangkok company that sold exercise machines. They were arrested on November 10, 2020, and released on bail, with the Thai wife of Nishi’s friend acting as a guarantor. Nishi had entered Thailand through Nong Khai province on March 6, 2020, and had extended his visa several times, most recently on March 6, 2022.
After renting a house in Nakhon Sawan from March 2021 to March 2022, Nishi was named in another arrest warrant on September 8, 2022, for jumping bail. His movements after this point remain unclear, and the investigation is ongoing to determine who might have been using his email and credit cards after his death.
photo Takahiro Nishi
