Police on Thursday took into custody a man who admitted stabbing his former girlfriend to death the day before in Chiba Prefecture.

The suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was apprehended at a ferry terminal on Hachijo Island around 285 km south of Tokyo.

The victim, Shiori Yuasa, 22, was stabbed in the abdomen, apparently with a kitchen knife, at around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in a shopping district in the city of Ichikawa and was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The attack reportedly occurred soon after Yuasa and her 3-year-old daughter had gotten out of a car driven by her current boyfriend. He told investigators that the male assailant ran away with a kitchen knife measuring 20 to 30 cm.

Witnesses said the man ran upstairs leading to JR Motoyawata Station, the police said.

They received tips that the man was heading to Hachijo Island. Officers waited for the arrival of a ferry at the terminal there Thursday morning and took the man resembling the suspect into custody on a voluntary basis after he said "it's me."

Matching witness accounts in Chiba, he was wearing a black down jacket, jeans and a black knit hat. He also had the health insurance card bearing the name of the suspect.

Police did not disclose any details about the suspect.

Yuasa had gone to the police in September and said she was being troubled by her former boyfriend, who was pressing her to get back together. The police only verbally warned the man as they did not confirm any violent action against Yuasa.