A 21-year-old woman arrested Monday along with her husband on suspicion of starving to death their 3-year-old daughter has told investigators that a lack of money prevented them from having the girl hospitalized, police said Wednesday.
Mariko Tanigawa told police she had debts exceeding 1 million yen, police said.
The couple were arrested for allegedly withholding food from their daughter Iori since mid-November. They are also suspected of having physically abused her.
According to police, Tanigawa took her daughter to a hospital in Handa, Aichi Prefecture, on Aug. 15. A doctor there told her that Iori was "extremely undernourished" and recommended hospitalization, but Tanigawa refused.
Her husband, Chiaki, 21, has allegedly told investigators he knew nothing about his wife's debts.
The couple had recently purchased a car.