Man confesses to stabbing family to death

A 47-YEAR-OLD man was being questioned by police in Japan yesterday after seven members of a family were found stabbed to death at two nearby homes.

The suspect confessed to the crimes after crashing his car in the neighbourhood.

The man, who said he was related to the victims, told police he had stabbed the four men and three women and set fire to a third house also owned by the same family and near where the bodies were found in Kakogawa, 280 miles south west of Tokyo. Another relative, who lived in one of the homes, was injured in the attack and was being treated at a hospital, said Hyogo police spokesman.

Investigators picked up the man when he crashed his car in the area shortly after police received an anonymous call about the stabbing. No-one was injured in the crash.

Police said the man was sent to a nearby hospital for treatment for burns and bruises believed sustained when he started the fire.

No motive for the attack was immediately known.

The four men and three women killed in the attack were aged 26 to 80.