Japanese couple locked up daughter for 15 years

A Japanese couple have been arrested after imprisoning their daughter for more than 15 years before she froze to death, aged 33, this month, local media reported yesterday.

Yasutaka Kakimoto, 55, and his wife Yukari, 53, from Osaka, admitted locking their daughter, Airi, in a small room from the age of around 16 or 17. An autopsy showed she was extremely malnourished and weighed just 3st.

Police said the parents claimed they confined their daughter because she was mentally ill and acted violently.