THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
September 17, 2022 at 17:12 JST
Police escort Keisuke Yoshida, right, into Ikegami Police Station in Tokyo on Sept. 16. (Minami Endo)
Tokyo police announced the arrest of a pharmaceutical company employee on suspicion of fatally poisoning his wife with methanol.
The Metropolitan Police Department on Sept. 16 named the suspect as Keisuke Yoshida, 40, saying he murdered his wife, Yoko, 40, in January.
Yoshida has denied the allegation, according to investigative sources.
Police said Yoshida called the emergency number on the morning of Jan. 16 to report that his wife was unconscious. Her death was confirmed the same day.
Police said they suspect that Yoshida got his wife to ingest methanol between Jan. 14 and 16 in sufficient quantities to kill her. Yoko was at home over those three days and police said there was no evidence that anyone else entered their home in Tokyo’s Ota Ward during that period.
Yoshida worked in the research and development section of Daiichi Sankyo Co., a leading pharmaceutical company. Company sources said he handled medicines in the course of his work.
Methanol, a chemical compound with a distinctive odor of alcohol, is primarily used as a solvent and antifreeze in pipelines and windwasher fluid.
“We are very gravely accepting the arrest of one of our employees,” the company said in a statement. “We will take strict disciplinary measures after confirming the facts.”
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