Three human skeletons were discovered in a car hauled Sunday from the seabed near a pier in Tokushima city, Tokushima Prefecture, police said.
The police identified the owner of the minicar as Junko Aihara, 28, the wife of Eisaku Aihara, a 27-year-old fisherman who was found murdered in March at his home in Tokushima.
The police believe the bodies are those of Junko and her two daughters. They added that coroners are expected to soon begin working to identify the bodies and determine the cause and date of death.
The car was found just past midnight Saturday by workers who were hauling garbage and debris from the seabed.
Aihara was found stabbed to death at his home on March 27. His wife and daughters were missing.