Tokyo police arrested a 78-year-old man on Tuesday on suspicion of murder and arson after a fire at his home in Ota Ward killed a woman he lived with and injured two other family members, the Sankei Shimbun reported.
The man, identified as company employee Makoto Seki of Haneda, Ota Ward, admitted the allegations, according to the Metropolitan Police Department's Kamata Station. He told investigators he had intended to die as well, the Sankei Shimbun reported.
Police suspect he set the fire at around 9:40 a.m. on July 26 at the two-story building that serves as both his home and a shop. He is accused of dousing Michiyo Terashima, 61 at the time, with gasoline and igniting it, killing her, and of attempting to kill two other family members.
Terashima died of burns. According to the Kamata Station, Seki had argued with her while she was cooking in the second-floor kitchen, then poured gasoline and set it alight from the stove.
The fire burned part of the second floor. Terashima's mother, 83, and her son, 31, who were in the house, suffered injuries to their faces and throats. Seki burned his arms and legs and had been in hospital since; he was discharged on Tuesday and arrested.
Seki was married to Terashima's mother. The Kamata Station is investigating on the view that he had been in dispute with Terashima over her care and over the sale of the house.