The arson suspect in Wednesday's deadly blaze at a video parlor in Naniwa Ward, Osaka, has reportedly told police he started the fire after deciding to commit suicide there, sources said.
But Kazuhiro Ogawa, 46, said he got scared and ran away after seeing smoke starting to fill the private viewing room he had rented, according to the sources.
The fire and smoke eventually killed 15 people at the Shishashitsu Cats Nanba video parlor.
"I'm really sorry for what I have done," Ogawa was quoted as saying by the sources.
He reportedly told investigators he was extremely depressed because he had to rely solely on welfare benefits.
"I have parted with my family and felt miserable. I had thought my life would be meaningless even if I continued life like that," he was quoted as saying.
According to the sources, Ogawa said he was brought to the video parlor by a man he became acquainted with several days before.
Ogawa reportedly said he set fire to some tissue paper, and as the flames spread, he got scared and fled.
Investigators believe Ogawa was pinched for money because he asked a friend to lend him ¥10,000 two weeks before the fire, but the request was turned down, the sources said.
Ogawa got divorced more than 10 years ago, and his wife returned with their daughter to her family.
