OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a 55-year-old woman who is suspected in a string of arson incidents inside her apartment building in Osaka City, reports TV Asahi (Feb. 5).
At just past 5:00 a.m. on February 4, Yayoi Mitani allegedly set fire to two umbrellas in front of a second-floor apartment in the building, located in Sumiyoshi Ward.
“I started the fire to relieve stress that had accumulated as a result of [problems] at home and within the building association,” Mitani said in admitting to the allegations.
A male occupant of the unit awoke after the fire started. “I smelled what appeared to be a burning candle,” he said. ” After I opened the curtain, I saw the fire. It was scary.”
Between around last October and February 4, fires have started under suspicious circumstances in a total of 11 locations in the complex. In five of those cases, Mitani claimed to be the first responder.
