The death toll from a house fire last week in Shizuoka rose to seven Monday when the 69-year-old owner of the house died in a hospital, police said.
Masami Endo, a tailor, was hospitalized with severe burns after the fire ravaged his three-story house on Friday, killing six other members of his family, police said.
Killed in the fire were: Endo's 68-year-old wife, Hisako; their son, prefectural official Masatoshi, 39; Masatoshi's wife, Kazue, 36; the couple's two sons, Takahiro, 9, and Yuki, 7; and daughter Yuka, 3.
Police suspect the fire, which spread to four homes nearby, started in a work space on the first floor of the building, where the fire damage was worst. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.