A 3-year-old girl died Sunday after being abused by her 50-year-old grandmother in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture, police said.
They plan to interrogate Akiko Kikuchi on suspicion of inflicting injuries resulting in the death of her granddaughter, Kiseki Higuchi, who died of suffocation.
They said Kikuchi, who was arrested Saturday, has admitted to abusing the child. According to police, Kikuchi wrapped the girl in a blanket, tied her up with an electric cord, and left her at their home Saturday morning.
Kikuchi was living with the girl and her father, Koji Higuchi. He is divorced from Kikuchi's daughter.
Police believe Kikuchi abused the child in anger after learning she had told her father that her grandmother had pinched her.