Japanese man arrested after wife incinerated at zoo

Tokyo: Police in Japan have arrested a man accused of taking his wife’s body to the zoo where he worked and burning it in an incinerator, according to officials and local media reports.

A local police official told AFP that Tatsuya Suzuki was arrested on Thursday evening on suspicion that he transported the victim’s body to a tourist facility on the northern island of Hokkaido and destroyed it through incineration there.

Local media identified the victim as 33-year-old Yui Suzuki, his wife. Police have not disclosed how she died.

According to local media, Suzuki told investigators during voluntary questioning that he used the zoo’s incinerator, which is intended for waste and dead animals, to burn the woman’s body for a few hours.

His statement led police to search the incinerator, where the partial discovery of human remains subsequently led to his arrest, local media said.

Threat allegation cited in report

Public broadcaster NHK, citing investigative sources, reported that while she was alive, the woman had once told relatives that her husband was threatening to burn you until no trace of you will be left.

The case has also affected operations at Asahiyama Zoo, a well-known tourist site run by Asahikawa City. The zoo had already been closed since early last month for routine maintenance ahead of the summer season, but the incident forced a delay in its planned reopening on Wednesday.

The facility resumed operations on Friday, with officials bowing to visitors and apologising for the disruption.

According to NHK, Asahikawa City Mayor Hirosuke Imazu said, The zoo is in an extremely difficult situation at the moment. But we would like to turn your support into our energy, and convey the beautiful lives of our animals.

The arrest follows the discovery of human remains linked to the investigation, as authorities continue to examine the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death and the alleged disposal of her body at the zoo facility in Hokkaido.

Officials have so far only said that Suzuki is suspected of transporting the body to the tourist facility and incinerating it there. Further details about the cause of death have not been made public.

The case drew wide attention in Japan because of the allegation that the body was burned using equipment at a public zoo. The incinerator in question, according to local media, was used for disposing of waste and dead animals.

Friday’s reopening of the zoo came with a public apology from officials as the city sought to resume normal operations at the attraction despite the ongoing criminal investigation.