The story of Lucie Blackman‘s life will be portrayed in the upcoming Netflix true crime documentary titled “Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case.” Set for release on July 26, this film delves into the heart-wrenching events that unfolded in the life of Blackman, a 21-year-old British woman who found employment in Tokyo, Japan. After Lucie’s disappearance, police questioned several people, including her friend Louise Phillips.

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Who is Louise Phillips?

In 2000, Blackman, a 21-year-old from Sevenoaks, Kent, and her friend Louise Phillips, also 21, from Bromley, Kent, arrived in Tokyo on 90-day tourist visas. Having resigned from their jobs with British Airways to explore Asia, the two women shared a first-floor room in a lodging house close to Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium. In pursuit of financial support during their stay, they secured employment at the Casablanca bar, located in Tokyo’s vibrant Roppongi district.

As part of their job, besides serving drinks, the two friends took on the role of hostesses, which occasionally involved going on paid dates, called ‘dōhan’in Japan. On July 1, 2000, Lucie Blackman went on one such paid date with a customer. She had informed Phillips that she would be heading out for the afternoon with a man, but she never returned.

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As a search for Blackman was underway, Phillips received a telephone call from a man who identified himself as Akira Takagi. He claimed that Blackman was involved with a religious cult and was undergoing “training.” He added that Phillips won’t have the opportunity to see Blackman again.