Friend of Missing Student Weston Higginbotham in Japan Shares His Deepest Fears After Discovering Last Known Location

A CHILDHOOD friend who met with the American student missing in Japan just days before he vanished fears he may have gone on a hike and injured himself before a storm hit.

James “Weston” Higginbotham, who studies at the University of Auburn in Alabama, went missing in Kyoto while on a family vacation.

Weston Higginbotham [right] pictured with his childhood friend Hiyu Shikari just days before he vanished in Japan Credit: Hiyu Shikari Hiyu Shikari [right] described Weston as being like a brother and met with him and his family for dinner in Tokyo Credit: Hiyu Shikari Weston Higginbotham was on vacation with his mom and dad, Nancy and Keith, and his younger brother, Grayson Credit: Facebook/Nancy Higginbotham Local authorities have now distributed missing posters showing Weston on the trip Credit: Facebook/Nancy Higginbotham

Before he disappeared, Weston told his family he wanted to explore the area by himself while they headed to a nearby temple.

He had a disagreement with his mother, Nancy, about the use of ChatGPT on the trip and he told her he wanted some space, according to CNN.

After he failed to return, his family alerted authorities, sparking a search that has now stretched into its sixth day as police and the FBI investigate.

The 20-year-old had arrived in Japan with his parents and younger brother, Grayson, who had just graduated high school.

Weston was reportedly last captured on CCTV footage at around 8pm on Friday after getting off a train in Yamashina, about a five-minute ride from Kyoto.

He was seen appearing to head toward a route leading to nearby hiking trails.

Earlier that evening, he had stopped at a local hardware store before boarding the train, adding to the mystery.

His phone then lost network connection at 8:29pm, leaving his family unable to trace his location any further.

The U.S. Sun spoke to his longtime friend Hiyu Shikari, 20, who went to school with Weston in the US before moving to Japan.

He said he was thrilled when he got in touch weeks ahead of his family’s dream vacation, asking to meet up.

They planned a dinner and Hiyu met with Weston, his mother, father and brother, and a touching video shared on Instagram shows the two hugging.

“We had such a great time at a restaurant in Shinjuku in Tokyo,” he said.

“I tried to contact him on how he was doing in Kyoto, because I was in Kyoto a couple of weeks ago, and also the typhoon was coming as I was kind of worried, and I messaged him, ‘How’s the trip going?’ And that was after he went missing.

“And so I didn’t get any contact with him after I met him.

“I’ve been doing what I can to spread awareness.”

He described him as being like a “best friend and brother” and said his disappearance has left him shaken.

“I actually talked with a friend that used to live in those areas today to get some information, recently it’s a lot safer,” he said.

“But the thing that concerns me is that there’s a lot of forest and mountains around and because he is an experienced hiker, he likes to be in nature a lot.

“So I won’t say if [it] would be dangerous if it was in the normal conditions.

“But the thing is, a typhoon hit recently, and the conditions of those places… I can imagine it is not good because the typhoon affects the mud [and] there will be falling trees, which is pretty dangerous.”

Although Weston only took around $62 with him, Hiya said, “You could probably buy some reasonable gear if you had $62 USD in Japan.”

Research showed the weather turned until Typhoon Jangmi hit on Wednesday, bringing a wave of torrential rain and strong winds.

Talking about Weston’s family, he said, “We’re praying for them.

“I don’t think there are a lot of Japanese sources that are accurate because I’m asking my friends to kind of spread information.”

Hiyu said that nothing was out of the ordinary at the dinner, and they talked about the environment, politics and AI, topics Weston is passionate about but he didn’t seem angry.

His friend felt nothing had changed when they met up after many years, joking, “He got taller.”

He said, “He was excited to visit a lot of places in Japan. We discussed what the family was going to do.

“I also congratulated his brother for graduating high school and that he was going to pursue his education [at] university like all those ordinary catching up [topics].”

Hiyu said he was shocked he had become vegan but respected his choice and shared his concern for the environment.

“He was excited to see the nature in Japan,” he said.

“Japan’s known for its beautiful scenery, but he never mentioned him going out on his own.

“I felt like he was excited to go with his family, his brother, his mom and dad.

“I don’t know what went down in his conversation with his mother.

“I respect both of them because I think the use of AI is very controversial topic, and I myself don’t even know how to kind of how to connect with AI and how to use AI as well.

“I respect that it does have an impact on the environment. And we should all be considerate and be knowledgeable about its impact.

“But on the other side, it does make your life very convenient. And especially if you’re in a country that you don’t even speak [the] language.

“I hope that everyone respects both of their opinions.”

He feels it was likely just a disagreement and they have a good relationship and he wouldn’t just take off and not contact them.

“It is a big mystery. I feel like Weston to me is such a good friend.

“He helped me through the years, when I didn’t know how to speak English in the US.

“And I don’t think he’s the kind of person that would just go [off] on his own because he had a disagreement.

“I feel like he would be the person to kind of communicate through these problems, arguments.”

He said he plans to travel to Kyoto on Friday to support the family.

“I would like to do what I can do there, just even simple as translating or some communications with the police or anything, just anything that could be useful.”