A 27-year-old truck driver was arrested Thursday on suspicion of fatally stabbing either his mother or grandmother before setting fire to the women's home in the city of Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, according to local police.
The charred bodies of two people, one of whom had apparently been stabbed, were found amid the ruins of a two-story wooden house that was destroyed by a fire earlier in the day, police said.
The fire broke out around 2:55 a.m. at the home of 48-year-old restaurant worker Kazuko Onoda. Police said the two charred bodies may be those of Onoda and her 83-year-old mother, Suiko.
One of the bodies was found with a knife stuck in it, police said. Onoda's 18-year-old second daughter managed to escape from the fire and was taken to a hospital suffering from slight smoke inhalation, police said.