IWATE (TR) – Iwate Prefectural Police have launched an investigation following the discovery of the lower half of a male corpse along the coast of the harbor at Ofunato City last week, reports Iwate Nippo (Dec. 13).
At aroud 8:15 a.m. on Saturday, a search team from a local fire department discovered the decayed body, severed at the lower back, along a rocky area of Sanrikucho Yoshihama.
According to the Ofunato Police Station, it appears the severing of the body was a natural occurrence, not due to cutting, with the other portion still missing. It is believed the person died more than one year ago.
Believed to be aged up to 60, the person stood between 165 and 175 centimeters tall. The body, which had turned partially skeletal, was clothed in black pants, purple underwear and blue socks.
Police believe the body could belong to another national of North Korea whose body washed ashore — such cases have surged in recent weeks — or a person missing due to the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011.
Police are now working to identify the body.
