Slain restaurant owner well-liked

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Staff Writer

Tom Ito said his father was a hard-working man who didn't deserve to die by an employee's hand.

"My dad was a really good guy," he said of Yukichi Ito, owner of the Hama Yu Japanese Restaurant in Waikoloa on the Big Island. "He was working hard every day."

A 28-year-old Waikoloa man was in custody yesterday in connection with Tuesday's stabbing death of Ito at his restaurant in the Waikoloa Resort center known as The Kings' Shops.

Police said Yasushi Kato had been fired Monday and went to the restaurant the next day to confront the 61-year-old restaurant owner.

Tom Ito said his father had planned to let Kato continue working at the restaurant until he found a new job. He said he did not know the reason for the firing, but "it was not done in an unprofessional way."

Acting police Lt. Llewellyn Fukui said the restaurant owner was stabbed several times with what may have been a 10- to 12-inch sushi knife, and died at the scene.

The restaurant closes between lunch and dinner and was not open at the time.

Nina Nakasone of nearby Island Shells gift shop said she heard men yelling at about 4:30 p.m., but was too busy to investigate.

Fukui said witnesses pointed to Kato as the suspect when police arrived, and he was arrested without a struggle.

Kato was taken to the Kona Community Hospital for treatment of minor cuts before being transferred to the Kona police cellblock.

"We're working hard interviewing co-workers and potential witnesses," Fukui said yesterday afternoon.

Ito, a Japanese citizen working on a green card, took over the restaurant about 10 years ago, his son said. With his wife, Yoshiko, he worked there nearly every day.

Tom Ito said his stepmother was devastated by her husband's death. Workers at neighboring stores expressed shock.

"He was a very nice person — very polite, very thoughtful," said Lisa Dungate, owner of Island Shells. "Both he and his wife were nice, nice people."

Reach Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.