The dismembered body of a man found last week in and around Lake Hamanako in Shizuoka Prefecture has been identified as that of a man from Hokkaido, police said Thursday.

The victim was 32-year-old Yuto Demachi, who was originally from Bibai, Hokkaido. The police do not know where he lived or what he had been doing for a living.

An autopsy found that Demachi died from stab wounds to the abdomen. The autopsy report has prompted the police to launch a murder investigation and confiscate several cars as part of their probe.

The police have also verified through DNA tests that four body parts found at different locations on a lake shore were all his. The victim is presumed to have died roughly two to seven days before the body parts were found on Friday last week.

The body parts may have washed ashore after being thrown away elsewhere.