A couple in Kishiwada, Osaka Prefecture, under arrest for nearly starving the man's son to death have owned up to most of the allegations against them, police said.
Natsuyo Kawaguchi, the 38-year-old girlfriend of truck driver Yasunobu Karasuno, has told investigators that she withheld food from the 15-year-old boy "initially in order to discipline him."
She said she escalated the abuse "because the boy was rebellious," according to Osaka Prefectural Police.