A Japanese man hid his father’s body in a wardrobe for two years to avoid the costs of a funeral and is now under investigation for pension fund fraud. - Photo: SCMP composite/newsdig.tbs.co.jp/Shutterstock
TOKYO: A Japanese man concealed his father’s body in a wardrobe at home for two years after the elder’s death, unwilling to bear the costs of a funeral.
The man’s actions came to light recently, prompting a police investigation.
Nobuhiko Suzuki, 56, had not opened his Chinese restaurant in Tokyo for a week, raising concerns among neighbours who subsequently contacted the police, according to reports from Fuji News Network.
When police officers arrived to check on him, they instead discovered his father’s skeleton in the wardrobe. Suzuki had hidden the body since his father passed away at age 86 in January 2023.
While the circumstances surrounding his father’s death remain unclear, Suzuki claimed he returned home that day to find his father’s lifeless body.
“The funeral was expensive,” he admitted when explaining his decision to conceal the body.
Authorities stated that Suzuki initially felt guilt over his actions but eventually felt relieved, believing that his father was to blame for his death.
He has been arrested and is now under investigation for allegedly embezzling his father’s pension.
The case has sparked mixed reactions among Japanese internet users. Some speculated that Suzuki aimed to collect additional pensions, while others expressed empathy, noting the complexities surrounding funerals for those who lack experience.
“He is just a bad guy who hid his father’s body for his pension,” remarked one user.
Concerns arose among neighbours when Nobuhiko Suzuki had not opened his Chinese restaurant for a week, prompting them to alert the authorities. - Photo: TBS
Another shared: “When my father passed away, the hospital urged me to find a funeral home immediately. I ended up spending two million yen (US$14,000). Losing a family member for the first time is overwhelming, with so many unknowns.”
A third user suggested: “People often do not know what to do after a loved one dies. We need a system to connect them with support networks.”
According to a survey by Japanese funeral service provider San Holdings Inc., the average funeral cost in Japan was around 1.3 million yen (US$8,900) following the Covid-19 pandemic.
This figure represents a decrease of 156,000 yen compared to pre-pandemic costs, as many opted for simpler, less expensive funerals.
More than 60 per cent of survey respondents anticipated funeral costs would be under one million yen.
This incident is not the first of its kind in Japan.
In 2023, a 56-year-old unemployed man was sued for hiding his 72-year-old mother’s body at home from 2019 to 2022 while embezzling about two million yen from her pensions during that period.
He confessed in court that he concealed his mother’s body to avoid funeral expenses and continue claiming her pensions, which were his sole source of income. - South China Morning Post
