Why did the missing Yamada sisters visit Saipan?

The parents and fiancée of two missing Japanese sisters have answered the question that has baffled investigators and the community as to why the two women came to Saipan for the first time for a supposed two-day trip.

According to the sisters’ father, Hideki Yamada, and their mother, Kozue, the short trip to Saipan was their daughter Natsuki’s surprise birthday gift to her younger sister, Chinatsu.

Natsuki, 33, and Chinatsu, 26, disappeared last June 30. Their rental car was found abandoned at Wing Beach in Marpi that day. They were supposed to fly back to Japan that same day. The two arrived on the island on June 28.

The Yamada couple, both 60, disclosed to Saipan Tribune early this week that Chinatsu celebrated her birthday last June 13 and that her older sister, Natsuki, arranged the trip to Saipan as a belated present for her.

The Yamada couple admitted that they too were not aware of the Saipan trip but Kenichi Ichikawa, the 29-year-old fiancée of Chinatsu, disclosed that he was aware of the plan.

The Yamada couple and Ichikawa came to the island on Sunday to follow up with the Department of Public Safety regarding the investigation into the case. The three went back to Nagano Prefecture, Japan last Tuesday.

Ichikawa said his girlfriend told him about the short trip but he did not join them because it was the sisters’ trip.

The Yamada parents and the fiancée said they don’t know why Chinatsu and Natsuki chose Saipan. However, the parents disclosed that they found in one of their daughters’ room a travel magazine that has information about booking package destinations, including Saipan. They said their daughters’ other option for the trip was to go to Okinawa.

The Yamada couple runs an apple farm in Nagano. Natsuki assisted in her parents’ company. Chinatsu was a biotechnologist at a private company and lived in Hokkaido. The parents’ other child is a 31-year-old male who is based in Japan.

The Yamada couple said it was the first time for their daughters to travel outside Japan.

Kozue said they first learned that the two were on Saipan when a travel agent in Japan called her on the phone last July 1. Kozue said the travel agent asked if their daughters were back from Saipan, but she couldn’t give an answer because she wasn’t aware that they went on a trip.

The following day, July 2, the parents flew to Saipan.

Ichikawa said he learned about the disappearance on July 2 when he saw the news on TV. Ichikawa said he was already worried at that time because Chinatsu did not contact him for a few days.

When Ichikawa watched the news, no names were mentioned at that time but when it was revealed that two sisters went missing on Saipan, he knew right away it was his fiancée and her sister.

“I was shocked,” Ichikawa said.

When he found out about the news, the victims’ parents were already on Saipan. He contacted the parents when they returned to Japan.

Ichikawa said the sisters took a train to the airport in Japan on their way to Saipan.

The parents said their daughters are good swimmers.

Search and rescue team recovered last July 2 an inflatable raft that was believed to have been used by the sisters at Wing Beach.

The parents want to believe that Chinatsu and Natsuki are still alive, a belief echoed by the fiancée. And because of this belief, they keep coming back to the island, hoping to get more information about them. It’s the fifth time that the Yamadas and Ichikawa came to Saipan after the incident. They will return next month, hoping to finally get some answers.