Japanese police on Monday began discussing with their Chinese counterparts how to proceed with investigations into the June murder of a family of four in the city of Fukuoka.
Fukuoka police and National Police Agency investigators, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday, held face to face discussions for the first time with Chinese authorities at the Chinese Public Security Ministry, which is holding two Chinese men in connection with the slayings.
After briefing them on the investigation in Japan, they were believed to have officially asked the Chinese ministry for cooperation in the case.
The two suspects detained by the Chinese ministry are Wang Liang, 21, and Yang Ning, 23, who reportedly told Chinese authorities they killed Shinjiro Matsumoto, a 41-year-old clothing merchant, his wife and two children.
A third Chinese man, 23-year-old student Wei Wei, was arrested in Japan and reportedly told Japanese police he broke into the Matsumotos' home with Wang and Yang and was involved in the killings.
The Chinese investigators were expected to provide more information to their Japanese counterparts on the two detained men, who allegedly fled Japan after killing the family at around midnight on June 19, according to Japanese police.