Tokyo police mounted a manhunt today after discovering the body of a young British woman buried in sand in a bathtub on a balcony in the city's eastern suburbs.

Officials in Tokyo said that the woman, Lindsay Ann Hawker, 22, worked in Japan as an English-language teacher but had failed to report to work on Sunday, prompting an English friend to raise the alarm.

Her body was found in an appartment block in Ichikawa, east of Tokyo. Tatsuya Ichihashi, a 28-year-old Japanese man who lived in the apartment and was said to know Ms Hawker , fled the building as police arrived. Police issued an arrest warrant in his name for abandoning a body.

“The bathtub was left out on the balcony and the (corpse) was left there in the bathtub,” Yoshihiro Sugita, the policeman leading the investigation, told reporters. “Furthermore, the corpse was covered with dirt as if to hide it."

Miss Hawker was from Brandon, near Coventry, where she studied at King Henry VIII school. She graduated in biology from the University of Leeds last year.

The British Embassy in Tokyo confirmed that it was cooperating with the investigation. “We can confirm that a British national is missing -- an English teacher -- and as you know the Japanese police have discovered a body,” a spokesman said.“Beyond that we cannot comment.”

A spokeswoman from the London-based Nova language school chain in London said Ms Hawker started teaching in Japan at the end of October 2006. She was a teacher at the Koiwa school in Tokyo and dedicated to her work.

“Lindsay took her job very seriously and put every effort into it,” the spokeswoman said. “She was trying very hard to get used to Japan. We are very sorry that this incident has taken place.”

The case comes seven years after the disappearance of another young British woman, Lucie Blackman. The 21-year-old bar hostess was found seven months later dismembered and buried in a seaside cave.

The Blackman case made headlines in Britain and Japan, with Tony Blair personally calling for cooperation on the investigation during a visit to Japan.

Police arrested a former property developer, Joji Obara, in relation to Blackman’s death.

Mr Obara, who has pleaded not guilty, was charged with abduction, assaults resulting in death, mutilation and abandonment of a corpse, but not actual murder.

A verdict is expected next month. Mr Obara faces life imprisonment if found guilty.

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