Tokyo police arrested a couple for the fifth time Friday on charges of defrauding an insurance company of ¥26 million ($167,416) in death benefits, part of a broader case in which the pair allegedly killed multiple family members using ethylene glycol.
Kenichi Hosoya, 43, a former company executive, and his wife, Shiho, 38, were rearrested on fraud charges, according to police sources. The couple, who previously ran a ryokan inn in Tokyo’s Asakusa district, had already been arrested four times last year for allegedly murdering four family members.
Prosecutors say that between January and June 2018, the suspects poisoned Kenichi’s mother, Yaeko, 68; his sister, Minako, 41; and his father, Isamu, 73.
In March 2023, they also allegedly killed their 4-year-old daughter, Yoshiki.
Investigators allege that in 2018, the couple submitted death certificates and insurance claims to collect payouts for the three relatives, securing approximately ¥26 million in total.
The insurance policies included both corporate and individual contracts, with payouts designated for Kenichi Hosoya’s leather goods company, Hosoya Sangyo, as well as himself and another sister. At the time, the three deaths were considered natural.
However, suspicions arose following Yoshiki Hosoya’s unexplained death, leading to a police investigation that revealed the victims had been poisoned with ethylene glycol.
Insurance policy terms specify that payouts are void if a beneficiary is found to have intentionally caused the policyholder’s death.
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