Police officers in Japan.—AP Photo
Japanese police officers.—AP Photo

TOKYO: An 80-year-old man was being questioned in Japan on Wednesday on suspicion of strangling his wife and keeping her body in the freezer for up to 10 years, police and media reports said.

Masaichi Yamada, who runs a fish-processing company, was arrested in the northern Japan port of Kushiro early Tuesday when the frozen corpse—still fully clothed—was uncovered.

“The suspect maliciously strangled the victim with a string-like object at their home and abandoned her body in the freezer at his working place,” a spokesman for police in Hokkaido told AFP by telephone.

It was not immediately known when the murder took place, the official said, adding the woman would have been 71 years old if she was alive today.

Yamada reportedly confessed to the police he killed his wife during an argument at their home “sometime between 2002 and 2006” and carried the body by car to the factory.

Police searched the factory after the dead woman's brother said he had not been able to contact his sister for several years.

Opinion

Editorial

Budget presser
Updated 14 Jun, 2026

Budget presser

If the FBR falters, the government will find itself in hot water sooner rather than later.
Muharram precautions
14 Jun, 2026

Muharram precautions

WITH Muharram due to start next week, the authorities have already begun annual exercises to ensure that the ...
Blood bequests
14 Jun, 2026

Blood bequests

WORLD Blood Donor Day offers a moment of “gratitude, advocacy and renewed commitment” for thalassaemia patients...
Sustainable path?
Updated 13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

The FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth.
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...