Body of Elderly Woman Found in Drum in Saitama Pref.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

19:17 JST, April 20, 2025

SAITAMA – An adult body was found on Friday in a metal drum on the premises of a recycling company in Yoshikawa, Saitama Prefecture, police said.

A subsequent autopsy determined that the body was that of an elderly woman, and police are working to identify her.

According to police sources, staff from the storage company entered the unit in February, as the fee had not been paid. At that time, they discovered the drum but did not check its contents. The storage unit has since been locked.

According to a senior official from the prefectural police, the woman has been dead for a considerable amount of time, and the cause of death is unknown. There were no visible external injuries.

As nobody came to collect the drum, the management company handed it over to a recycling company on Thursday. An employee of the company opened the lid of the drum on Friday and found the body covered in a tarp.