HYOGO (TR) – Hyogo Prefectural Police have launched an investigation following the discovery of a decayed corpse at the mouth of a river in Toyooka City last month, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Dec. 31).
At around 12:50 p.m. on December 31, a neighbor tipped off police after finding the body at the mouth of the Kirihama River in the Takenocho area.
According to Toyooka-Kita Police Station and the local Japan Coast Guard office, the gender and estimated age of the person are not known due to the advanced decay of the body.
As well, hangul writing, which is the script of the Korean language, was discovered written on an orange life jacket found on the body.
The day before, an unmanned wooden vessel measuring 3.85 meters in length was found beached in the town of Kami about 10 kilometers to the west of the river mouth. The vessel had a number written on its stern, but its origin is not known.
Police are now investigating whether the two cases are related.
