Footage of a British teacher standing alongside the main suspect for her murder has been released by Japanese police.

CCTV pictures taken shortly before the death of Lindsay Hawker show her in a cafe with Tatsuya Ichihashi, the 28-year-old medical student who fled from his apartment as police arrived to find her body in a bathtub full of sand.

Wearing a white overcoat, Ms Hawker is seen talking to Mr Ichihashi, who is dressed mainly in black, before he pays in the restaurant. Footage from outside the cafe then shows the pair getting into a taxi, which is believed to have taken them to Mr Ichihashi's apartment. NTV reported today that three cafe staff remembered seeing “a very beautiful foreign woman".

According to Japanese media reports, Ms Hawker, who was 22, is thought to have given Mr Ichihashi an English lesson in the cafe eight days ago before agreeing to stop off at his flat on her way to work at a language school. Her body was discovered the following day after concerned friends reported her disappearance.

Ms Hawker was found naked, bound and severely beaten under the pile of horticultural soil. She had been suffocated.

The release of the CCTV footage appears to be another attempt by the Japanese police to flush out Mr Ichihashi, who has not been seen since escaping from police last Monday. The student, from an affluent family of doctors, ran off barefoot, leaving behind a rucksack of half-packed clothes. He had approached Ms Hawker five days before her death at a railway station.

Yesterday Ms Hawker's father, Bill, who has flown to Japan to help with the investigation, said Mr Ichihashi had brought shame on Japan and asked for the public to hand him in. Graham Fry, the British Ambassador, read out a statement from Mr Hawker:

“My daughter’s killer has now brought shame on your country. He must be caught, he cannot be allowed to hide away," he said. “The Japanese police are making every possible effort to catch him. I still respect this country and its people."

“I know you place great importance on family and community links, so as a father I appeal to you: if anyone can help the police to find my daughter’s killer, I beg you to come forward.”

The suspect's face has been shown dozens of times in photographs and television news reports since the murder, leading to speculation that he is being helped.

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