A man in his 30s who works at Asahiyama Zoo as an employee of the Asahikawa municipal government has reportedly told Hokkaido police that he disposed of his wife’s body in an incinerator at the zoo and burned it, investigative sources said. The woman was also in her 30s.
Hokkaido police are investigating the case on suspicion of abandoning a corpse and are proceeding cautiously as they examine the zoo’s incinerator, the man’s home, and other related locations.
Asahiyama Zoo had been closed from April 8 to 28 as it prepared for its summer season. However, the city announced on April 27 that the reopening, originally scheduled for April 29, would be postponed until May 1.
Suspect Came to Work Before Questioning
According to the city, police contacted the zoo on April 23, requesting to question the man on a voluntary basis. He had come to work as usual that day and agreed to the questioning. Investigative sources said he told police, in effect, that he had “disposed of his wife’s body in the incinerator.”
Mayor Hirosuke Imazu issued a statement on April 27, saying, “We sincerely apologize for the considerable concern and inconvenience this has caused.” He said Hokkaido police had been conducting an investigation inside the zoo since April 23 and that the city was “fully cooperating.”
Asahiyama Zoo is known for exhibits that let visitors observe polar bears and other animals in settings designed to resemble their natural habitats. It is one of Japan’s most famous tourist attractions.
(Read a related article in Japanese.)
Author: The Sankei Shimbun
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