An 82-year-old man of Kato, Hyogo Prefecture, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of strangling his 79-year-old wife, who had dementia, in their home Tuesday, police said.

The police said they arrested Yoshiaki Yao, who called police at around 3 p.m. Tuesday and said he had killed his wife Masano.

According to investigators, a power cable was found near the victim and the man told police that he strangled her because he had a hard time taking care of her.

Kato Municipal Government officials said Masano's family had consulted them several times since July 2009 regarding her nursing care. She applied for a nursing care requirement authorization in October 2014 and had been receiving a nursing care service twice a week since November 2014.

Police said she was hospitalized in January after breaking her leg, and her husband was her main caregiver after she came back home in March. A nursing care helper was at their home until about 2 p.m. on the day of the incident.

The couple were living with their 50-year-old son, but the son was not at home at the time, they said.

"I believe the burden on the husband had been large," said a man in his 60s who lives nearby. Another neighbor said he had seen the wife standing in the street alone at night.