AICHI (TR) – Aichi Prefectural Police have arrested a 50-year-old man over the alleged fatal strangling of his son, who lived a shut-in existence, at their residence in Nagoya on Tuesday, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 24).
At around 7:30 a.m., Mitsuhiko Suzuki telephoned police to report that he had strangled his son at their residence, located in the Nagakicho area of Kita Ward.
Officers from the Kita Police Station arriving at the scene found the son, 25, collapsed on a futon. He was later confirmed dead at a nearby hospital.
Police subsequently arrested Suzuki on suspicion of attempted murder. During questioning, the suspect said that his son suffers from the condition known as hikikomori, meaning a person who has withdrawn from society. “I was worried about his future,” he told police in admitting to the allegations.
According to police, the wife of the suspect and their daughter also live in the residence. Police retrieved a rope believed to have been used to strangle the victim from inside the premises.
Police are now investigating whether to change the charges against the suspect to murder.
