The charred remains of three people who apparently died in a fiery murder-suicide were found Tuesday in a burned-out car on a forest road in a mountainous area of Fukuoka's Sawara Ward.
Police said they are working to identify the bodies of the man, woman and child found in the minicar. The man was seated in the driver's seat, the woman in the passenger seat and the child in the back seat, they said.
Police said the car's gas tank was open and they found traces of what they believe to be gasoline inside the car. A fuel pump was found nearby, and several plastic bottles were found inside the car.
The vehicle is registered to a 22-year-old woman from the city of Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture, and has a Fukuoka license plate, police said.