NARA (TR) – Nara Prefectural Police have arrested a 46-year-old man, another man claiming to be an “intermediary for God” and five others for allegedly confining the first man’s teenage son for several days last month, reports Jiji Press (June 9).
The suspects include Masaru Tatsumi, a 46-year-old company executive from Yamatotakada City, Nara Prefecture, 46-year-old Yu Murakami and Tatsumi’s 23-year-old eldest daughter, Sakura.
According to police, the group confined the teenage boy, who is the son of Tatsumi, at Sakura’s residence in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, between May 6 and 8.
During the ordeal, the suspects allegedly stripped the boy down to his underwear, surrounded him, and threatened him, telling him, “Even if you run away, you’ll be caught right away.”
The group kept him under constant surveillance and forced him to sleep completely naked.
The boy eventually managed to escape when he was brought back to Nara. He later told investigators that the group had taken him away for “rehabilitation” purposes, claiming he was being punished for “bad behavior.”
Police suspect the bizarre crime stems from Tatsumi’s psychological dependence on Murakami, who styled himself as an “intermediary for God’s revelations.” Tatsumi had reportedly begun relying heavily on Murakami’s spiritual advice after his company’s finances deteriorated.
Authorities have not disclosed whether the seven suspects have admitted to the allegations as they continue to investigate the circumstances leading up to the confinement.
