The decomposed body of a man believed to be Russian has been found inside the trunk of a car long abandoned at a parking lot in Mikawa, Yamagata Prefecture.
Police believe the man, whose body was found on Saturday, was most likely a Russian in his mid-30s who had rented the vehicle from a used car dealer in Niigata.
The man appears to have been dead for one to two months, according to investigators. He had bruises on his face and other signs that he had been attacked.
The vehicle's owner, a 63-year-old car manager of the car dealer, told the police he lent the car in mid-November to the Russian, with whom he had business dealings. However, he had since lost contact with the man.
After police contacted the owner in response to a complaint about the apparently abandoned car at a parking lot of a hot spring facility along National Highway No. 7, he went to Mikawa, opened the trunk and found the body.
Police have so far learned that the Russian came to Japan in mid-October on a 90-day visa. When he visited the Niigata car dealer, he submitted the photocopy of his passport as his ID.
During an earlier visit to Japan last year, the man reportedly purchased used cars from the dealer and exported the vehicles to Russia by ship, according to police.