A Japanese man has been arrested after the body parts of up to nine people were reportedly discovered in his apartment just outside of Tokyo.
Police made the grisly find in the property in the city of Zama as they investigated the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman earlier this month.
The woman was seen on security camera footage walking with a man near the apartment, media reports claimed.
A police spokesman said Takahiro Shiraishi, 27, was arrested on suspicion of abandoning a body, although it was not clear whose body it was.
“Some body parts were found in a picnic cooler, covered with cat litter,” the spokesman said.
According to the Asahi Shimbun, Shiraishi told police: “I severed the body in my apartment and put it in the cooler. I did so to conceal evidence that I killed the person.”
The newspaper adds “a large number of body parts, including heads, legs and arms” were found and that of the nine bodies, eight were apparently those of women.
It was not immediately clear if the suspect had entered a plea or had legal representation.
Kyodo news agency said the unidentified missing woman had posted a message on Twitter reportedly saying: “I want to die, but doing so alone is terrible. I’m looking for someone to die with me.”
Police declined to comment on media reports about how many bodies were found in the house.