A zoo in Japan was forced to delay its summer opening after an employee allegedly informed police that he had disposed of his wife’s body in the zoo’s incinerator, according to Japanese media reports.
Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, was scheduled to reopen on Wednesday, in time for a Japanese holiday period, after a three-week maintenance closure, but said it would reopen May 1 pending an investigation.
A statement on the zoo’s website reads, “We regret to inform you that a city employee is currently being questioned by the police on suspicion of involvement in a serious incident.”
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Police arrested 33-year-old employee Suzuki Tatsuya after investigators discovered what appeared to be human body parts in the zoo’s incinerator, Japanese news outlet NHK reported on Friday.
The incinerator is typically used to dispose of animal carcasses after they die, the BBC wrote.
Police say Tatsuya admitted to the alleged crime before he was arrested, according to the Japanese outlet, telling investigators he transported his 33-year-old wife’s body to the zoo and burned it at the end of March, it reported.
According to investigators, he also indicated that he had killed her and allegedly threatened to burn her body until nothing remained, NHK said.
Police began questioning Tatsuya after family members reported his wife was missing, the outlet added.
Hirosuke Imazu, the mayor of Asahikawa city, described the discovery at a press conference on Tuesday as an “unprecedented crisis,” the British outlet reported.
“No one could have predicted it,” he said.
“I am overcome with immense anxiety, and I am facing a crisis of unprecedented magnitude,” the mayor continued.
“We are making preparations to welcome you, so we hope that as many people as possible will come to the park,” he concluded.
The popular tourist destination, which attracts visitors from across Japan and around the world, is operated by the local government and welcomed visitors on Friday, two days later than scheduled.
FILE: ASAHIKAWA, JAPAN: Visitors watch monkeys at Asahiyama Zoo on February 2, 2009, in Asahikawa, Japan. Asahiyama Zoo became popular in Japan after it began displaying animals closer to visitors.
Junko Kimura/Getty Images
Asahiyama Zoo opened in July 1967 and is globally renowned for its unique enclosure designs, which include glass elements and overhead cages, giving visitors up-close, personal access to the animals.
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