Japan police probe man over wife in zoo incinerator: media

Japan’s meteorological agency on Tuesday issued a tsunami advisory to a group of remote islands south of Tokyo after a strong earthquake. (Ashley Landis/AP Photo)

Police were questioning a man in Japan on suspicions he disposed of his wife’s body using an incinerator at a zoo he works for, local media have reported.

Investigations were still ongoing and the Asahiyama Zoo, closed since earlier this month as part of regular preparations for the summer season, delayed its reopening slated for Wednesday.

The employee at the zoo on the northern island of Hokkaido, who is in his 30s, reportedly was questioned voluntarily over the disappearance of his wife.

He told investigators that he had used the zoo’s incinerator -- meant to dispose of waste and animal remains -- to burn her body “for a few hours,” local media reported this week.

“The police are currently conducting an investigation, and our facility will fully cooperate,” the zoo said in a statement Wednesday.

The zoo will instead resume its business Friday, it added.