A man got caught in a waste grinding machine and was killed at a recycling plant in the city of Nara, police said.
The 45-year-old was among four workers who were putting construction waste in the machine Monday morning at the plant operated by recycling company ITO, but when the work was completed around 4:30 p.m. his colleagues realized he was missing.
When searching for him, the other workers discovered body parts and fragments of the man's helmet in the compacted waste.
The plant reported the incident to police, saying: "A worker may have been caught in a grinding machine."
It is the third accident to have occurred at the company's plants in about a month.
On Aug. 20, a 56-year-old worker died at the Nara plant after he was crushed between a loading shovel and a truck.
On Aug. 2, a 67-year-old temporary employee was killed after getting trapped in a conveyer belt at another plant in Nara Prefecture.
In addition, a fatal conveyer belt accident occurred in April 2011 at the same plant where Monday's accident took place, which led a local labor standards inspection office to report the company to prosecutors on suspicion of violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act.