The family of murdered British teacher Lindsay Hawker have spoken of their relief after a Japanese court rejected an appeal by her killer.

A JAPANESE man accused of raping and murdering British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker, whose battered body was found in a sand-filled bathtub, has admitted the killing, but said it was accidental.

Police in Japan released footage of a man who is wanted in connection with the death of a British woman after failing to make any headway in the case.

British language teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker, whose naked body was found in a sand-filled bath in a Japanese apartment, was beaten and then suffocated to death, police said today.

Police believe a body found in a Japanese apartment is that of a missing British teacher, it was reported today.