5 Arrested in Connection With Death of Teenager in Japan Lake

Photo taken Feb. 13, 2024, shows the area in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, where the body of a high school boy was found earlier, with Lake Hamana in the background. (Kyodo)

SHIZUOKA – Police on Tuesday arrested five individuals including four teenagers after the body of a 17-year-old boy with Chinese nationality was found in a central Japan lake earlier this month.

The five are Neo Horiuchi, 21, from Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, an 18-year-old man with Philippine nationality and three 17-year-old boys, including one with Brazilian nationality. They were arrested on charges including assaulting Ukawa Saito, who was enrolled at a correspondence high school.

The police are investigating the relationship between the five and the victim.

An autopsy has indicated that Saito was drowned, with his body bearing multiple bruises.

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Saito, who lived in Fukuroi, a city in western Shizuoka Prefecture, was reported missing by his family on Feb. 7 and his body was found two days later by an angler at Lake Hamana, also in the western part of the prefecture.

A 74-year-old man working near where the body was found said the area is usually quiet, with only occasional visitors such as anglers and local residents for exercise.

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“It is not the kind of place high school students come, especially at night when there are no streetlights,” he said.

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Body of 17-year-old boy found in central Japan lake, murder suspected