Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido announced that it has been forced to postpone its summer opening after a male employee admitted to disposing of his wife’s body in the zoo’s incinerator.
The city of Asahikawa, where the zoo is located, announced on Monday that it would be postponing the opening of the zoo until Friday as it cooperates with the investigation.
According to investigators, a person close to the employee’s wife lost contact with her in late March and contacted police on Thursday to file a missing person’s report.
Following this, police began voluntary questioning of the employee, who is in his 30s. He told police that he had “disposed of the body in the zoo’s incinerator and burned it for several hours,” according to Hokkaido Television Broadcasting.
Police began an on-site investigation of the incinerator on Friday and began searching the man’s home on Sunday. So far, they have seized three vehicles, including a zoo car, which they believe might have been used to dispose of the body.
Mayor Hirosuke Imazu said the city is cooperating with the police investigation and explained that “the situation requires additional time to prepare to welcome visitors.”
He also issued an apology, saying, “We sincerely apologize for the great concern and inconvenience caused.”
