Police on Wednesday arrested a 53-year-old man from Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, who is initially suspected of burying the bodies of his mother and sister in the yard of his home.
Teruhiko Ikemi, a guitar craftsman, has owned up to the allegations, the police said. He is suspected of burying his 84-year-old mother, Kimiyo, with whom he lived, and his 56-year-old sister, Reiko Takeoka, who lived in a different part of the city, sometime around last Friday.
They were found buried beneath a tool shed, according to the police. The mother did not have any apparent external wounds but the sister showed signs of internal bleeding, the police said, adding that their bodies will be subject to autopsies.
The police said Ikemi had consulted them about family troubles in September and they are investigating a connection to the burials.
After being told Reiko Takeoka did not show up for work on Friday, her eldest son contacted Ikemi, who told him she had gone out with her mother at around noon that day.
The police received a call after the pair remained missing. On Tuesday, they questioned Ikemi, who told them he had buried the bodies, they said. The police searched the yard and found the bodies that night, they added.