A truck driver was arrested Saturday after the skeletal remains of what is believed to be his son were found inside an apartment in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, based on a report of a missing boy.

The Kanagawa Prefectural Police allege Yukihiro Saito, 36, let his son, Riku, die around January 2007 by denying him food and water from around the previous October. They believe the boy was 5 when he died.

Saito was arrested on suspicion of causing death by parental negligence. The police said he has admitted to the charge and left the apartment after the boy's death.

A child consultation center alerted the police on May 22 that a boy registered at that address who was supposed to start junior high school had not reported to school.

The police tracked down the boy's father, who was living elsewhere in the city, and asked him to accompany them on an inspection of the locked apartment. They found the remains on Friday.