In a bizarre incident, Japanese police arrested a 56-year-old restaurant owner, Nobuhiko Suzuki, for hiding his father’s body in a wardrobe for two years because he wanted to avoid funeral expenses.
According to reports, Suzuki had concealed his father’s body since his death in January 2023.
Suzuki’s secret came to light after he failed to turn up at his Chinese restaurant in Tokyo for a week, raising concerns among neighbours, who alerted the police about his disappearance. Officers visited Suzuki’s residence to check on him and discovered his father’s skeletal remains hidden inside a wardrobe.
Suzuki confessed to hiding his father's body, citing financial hardship: "The funeral costs were too high." He claimed he discovered his father already deceased when he returned home, though details about how his father died remain uncertain.
Police reported that Suzuki initially experienced remorse but later felt unburdened, believing his father had caused his hardships. Authorities have now taken Suzuki into custody and are examining possible pension fraud.
A survey by San Holdings Inc. reveals that Japanese funeral expenses now average 1.3 million yen (approximately $8,900), which is 156,000 yen less than before the Covid-19 pandemic, reflecting a trend toward more modest ceremonies. Over 60 percent of those surveyed anticipated funeral costs below 1 million yen.
According to SCMP, comparable cases have occurred in Japan. In 2023, an unemployed 56-year-old man concealed his 72-year-old mother's remains at their residence for three years (2019-2022) to avoid funeral expenses while continuing to collect her pension benefits, amounting to 2 million yen.
