Japanese suspect in Briton's death caught

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese suspect in the death of a young British woman found naked in a sand-filled bathtub has been caught after more than two years on the run during which he had plastic surgery, Japanese media reported on Tuesday.

Tatsuya Ichihashi, 30, had been sought in connection with the death of Lindsay Ann Hawker, a 22-year-old English teacher from Brandon, near Coventry, after her body was found on the balcony of his apartment in Ichikawa, east of Tokyo, in March 2007.

Public broadcaster NHK said a man detained by police in Osaka, western Japan, was confirmed to be Ichihashi.

"I feel so, so pleased and so relieved," Hawker's father, William Hawker, told broadcaster TBS in a telephone interview shortly after news of the suspect's capture.

"I hope that authorities deal with him in an appropriate manner," he said, crying. "My nightmare is finally over."

Ichihashi had dominated domestic media for the past week after reports that he had plastic surgery to hide his identity. A new picture of him was released by police last week, after which his mother appealed on Japanese television for her son to turn himself in.

Ichihashi, who was living alone in the apartment where Hawker's body was found, fled when the police arrived to question him, losing his shoes and a rucksack in a chase.

(Reporting by Chisa Fujioka and Yoko Kubota; Editing by David Fox)