OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a 31-year-old teacher in an alleged attempted arson case at a kindergarten in Miyakojima Ward last month, reports TBS News (June 16).
On the evening of May 16, Mariko Kusunoki, a 31-year-old resident of Kyoto’s Joyo City, allegedly ignited some cardboard boxes inside a storage room at the private kindergarten, causing burns to some shelving.
At the time of the incident, Kusunoki was among three persons at the school. She was seen by a witness inside the storage room immediately before the fire started.
Kusunokie, who has been accused of attempted arson inside an inhabited structure, denies the charges, telling police she has nothing to say about the matter.
Two weeks later, clothes and other items at the school were set ablaze under suspicious circumstances. Police are investigating whether there is a connection between the two incidents.
