Early morning house fires kill 8 people from 2 families

The Asahi Shimbun
December 4, 2007
Source: http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200712040103.html

A fire in Miyagi Prefecture killed five family members of four generations in an apparent murder-suicide while a blaze in Nagano Prefecture killed three relatives preparing for a funeral, police said Monday.

According to police, the fire in the town of Kami in northwestern Miyagi Prefecture started around 4:35 a.m. Monday at the house of Morihiko Sasaki, 56.

It destroyed the 124-square-meter one-story structure and an adjoining 144-square-meter shed that was also used as a garage.

The five bodies in the ruins were identified as: Sasaki; his father, Seigi, 83; his mother Akiko, 79; his eldest daughter, Chiho, 30; and Chiho's daughter Yui, 5.

Morihiko Sasaki sent an e-mail to his sister via his cellphone early Monday indicating he might force his family to die with him, police said.

Acquaintances said Sasaki, who frequently changed jobs, including a construction laborer, was having trouble paying off his debts.

Both Seigi and Akiko were sick, and Chiho was suffering from a heart disease and was not working.

The fire in Shiojiri in central Nagano Prefecture began around 4 a.m. at the house of Yukio Yanagisawa, 58, a company employee. It destroyed the wooden two-story structure with a total floor space of about 140 square meters.

Three bodies were found, believed to be Yanagisawa, his wife, Chiemi, 51, and her mother, Sasae, 85.

According to the police investigation, Chiemi's father, Takechika, 84, died of a disease at a hospital Sunday night. Other family members, including Yanagisawa's 25-year-old son, Shigeru, and 26-year-old daughter Miyuki, brought Takechika's body to the house around 12:30 a.m. Monday. It was placed in a first-floor room.

Candles and incense were burned in the room. Around 3 a.m., only Sasae remained in the room to take care of the candles and incense.

Shigeru and Miyuki escaped after the fire broke out. But the other three were trapped.

Police suspect flames from the candles or incense sticks spread to other materials of the house. (IHT/Asahi: December 4, 2007)

5 bodies found after blaze in Miyagi Pref.

The Yomiuri Shimbun
December 4, 2007
Source: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20071204TDY02308.htm

Five bodies were found in a house gutted by a fire in Kamimachi, Miyagi Prefecture, early Monday, in what appeared to be a murder-suicide, the police said.

The fire completely destroyed a one-story wooden house and a barn with a garage, with a total floor space of 270 square meters.

According to the police, the house belonged to Morihiko Sasaki, 56. Investigators are trying to confirm whether the bodies are those of Sasaki; Sasaki's father, Seigi, 83; his mother, Akiko, 79; daughter, Chiho, 30; and Chiho's 5-year-old daughter, Yui.

Before the fire broke out, Sasaki sent an e-mail from his cell phone to a relative in which he threatened to kill himself and his family. The police are trying to establish if there was any connection between this e-mail and the blaze.

The fire was reported at about 4:35 a.m. by a newspaper delivery man. Firefighters took about 2-1/2 hours to extinguish the blaze.

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Sasaki reportedly deep in debt

Sasaki had been out of work and spent his days at home, according to a relative and other acquaintances.

He quit a construction company several years ago. Recently he had stayed at home even during the daytime to work in the fields.

"He seemed to be pressed for money," another relative said. "I lent him about 300,000 yen, but he seemed to have borrowed money from others."

Sasaki reportedly complained about his daughter to his neighbors, telling them, "Chiho can't work because of her heart complaint."

According to a male acquaintance who lived in the neighborhood, Sasaki delightedly told him about his granddaughter's dance at a parents' day at her kindergarten. He was sometimes seen walking with his granddaughter.

A male farmer in his 60s said he saw the house engulfed by flames up to five or six meters high.

(Dec. 4, 2007)

5 family members found dead in Miyagi blaze

The Mainichi Shimbun
December 3, 2007
Source: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20071203p2a00m0na009000c.html

KAMI, Miyagi -- Five people stretching across four generations of the same family were found dead after a fire gutted their home here early Monday, police said.

Killed in the fire were 83-year-old Moriyoshi Sasaki, his 79-year-old wife, Akiko, their 56-year-old son, Morihiko, granddaughter, 30-year-old Chiho, and great-granddaughter, 5-year-old Yui.

Police said a neighbor of the Sasaki's saw smoke billowing out of the home just after 4:30 a.m. and alerted the fire department. Firefighters arrived on the scene and quenched the blaze in about two and a half hours, but made the gruesome find of the five bodies in the charred remains of the home.

（Mainichi Japan） December 3, 2007