The suspect in a case involving the death of a 37-year-old woman on a remote Tokyo island has told police investigators that the victim died by suicide, people familiar with the investigation said Saturday.
The suspect, tatami store manager Sotatsu Yanase, 45, was arrested Friday on suspicion of abandoning and damaging the body of Shizuka Takase, with whom he was in a relationship. Some of Takase's bones were discovered on the beach on Izu Oshima last October, and Yanase has admitted to disposing of her body.
Investigators from the Metropolitan Police Department are examining Yanase's statements carefully for inconsistencies, as Takase was planning to go on a trip with friends to Okinawa Prefecture after staying at the suspect's home.
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