Six years after death of unnamed American in Tokyo after encounter with police, still no answers

First, I want to share this story that appeared in Tokyo Weekender six years ago. Until very recently it appeared on their website, but it has now been removed:

English Teacher Dies after Being Restrained by Police

March 5, 2015 by Alec Jordan

Tokyo Weekender

A short article reporting the death of a 29-year-old English teacher who fell into a coma after being restrained by the police raises more questions than it answers.

The Jiji Press reported that the teacher, who was from the US, died in a hospital following a February 11 incident in the Akasaka area of Minato Ward. The Jiji article, reprinted on the Japanese version of the Wall Street Journal, is scant on details, aside from the following: At around 5:30 pm on the Foundation Day holiday, police received a call about a foreigner behaving violently . When police approached the man, who was reported as a resident of Setagaya Ward, he responded violently. A total of six officers restrained the American by his arms and legs. In the struggle, the man went into cardiac arrest and was taken to a nearby hospital.

The man did not regain consciousness after the incident, and died on March 1. Police stated that the man did not seem to have suffered any external injuries.

No other information—the man’s name, his home town, employer, or additional details about the conflict—has been provided thus far.

http://www.tokyoweekender.com/2015/03/english-teacher-dies-after-being-restrained-by-police/  

(The link above now leads to a “404 Not Found” page, as does the link to the Japanese edition of the Wall Street Journal.)

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When I tipped off Tokyo Weekender about this story, I also tipped off multiple major English language news outlets, none of which covered the story or replied to my email. Was it just an amazing coincidence that not one of these major news outlets thought this story was worth covering, or was there a news blackout? And if there was a news blackout, why?

The Tokyo government and U.S. Embassy refused to comment, so I submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the State Department in April of 2015 requesting the man’s name and any details surrounding this incident, of which few are known. Was anyone injured by this ‘violent’ American man before he was taken down by police? Was an autopsy performed? Why did a 29 year-old have a heart attack during his arrest? Were there any witnesses? Is there any video? Was there an investigation? What did it find? Was excessive force used to subdue him? Was anyone held accountable? A year or two later I submitted a second FOIA request for all correspondence between the Tokyo Embassy and the State Department regarding my first FOIA request. I have still not received any information in response to the first request. The State Department claims they never received the second one.

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In contrast, here is a story from the BBC. I suspect this is what happened to the unnamed American in Tokyo. Unlike in that incident, this victim in the UK was identified, the press covered it, there was an investigation as to what happened, the findings of that investigation have been released to the public, and the media covered those findings. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-56339607