Police also received information that a man who looks similar to Tatsuya Ichihashi, 30, had cosmetic surgery at a clinic in Nagoya, the sources said. Ichihashi is wanted for suspicion of abandoning the body of Lindsay Hawker, 22, a language teacher, in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture.

The Chiba police have dispatched investigators to Aichi to further probe into the first detailed information on the suspect since his has been on the run in March 2007.

Ichihashi has gone missing after escaping questioning from police officers on March 26, 2007 at his apartment, where Hawker's body was found in a sand-filled bathtub.

Hawker's family visited Japan several times, hoping to resolve her murder case, while the National Police Agency raised the cash reward for information leading to his arrest from 1 million to 10 million yen in June this year.