Kimiko Goto's house, where the incident occurred, is seen in the city of Hamura, Tokyo, on Sept. 21, 2021. (Mainichi/Maki Kihara)

       TOKYO -- A 77-year-old woman was arrested without a warrant on Sept. 20 on suspicion of attempted murder for allegedly strangling her sister in Tokyo, the police said.

       Suspect Kikuyo Kodama's sister, Kimiko Goto, 74, was confirmed dead at the hospital where she was taken, and the Metropolitan Police Department's Fussa Police Station are investigating the case, including the possibility of murder.

       Kodama was indicted in June on charges of killing her third son, aged 47, at his request. She was released on bail in July.

       The suspect was arrested for allegedly attempting to kill Goto by strangulation at around 11 a.m. on Sept. 20 at Goto's home in the city of Hamura, Tokyo. At around 12:55 p.m., Kodama called the police and said that she had killed her sister.

       Kodama reportedly admitted to the allegations, saying, "I started living with my sister after I was released on bail, and in mid-September she fell and broke her hip at home, and she asked me to kill her because she was having a hard time with daily life. So I strangled her with a power cord." An autopsy was scheduled for Sept. 22 to determine the cause of death.

       A woman in her 70s who lives nearby said, "I saw them coming out of the house together three or four days before the incident, and nothing seemed odd."

       On April 2, Kodama was arrested by the Fussa Police Station on suspicion of attempted murder for strangling her third son, who was living with her in the city of Akiruno, Tokyo, at the time.

       Her third son had been diabetic for about 20 years, and she stated, "My son, who tried to kill himself by taking a large insulin dose, told me, 'I can't die like this, so I want you to kill me,' so I strangled him."

       The third son died at the hospital where he was taken, and Kodama was charged with contract murder.

       (Japanese original by Maki Kihara, Tokyo City News Department, and Yuki Nakagawa, Lifestyle and Medical News Department)

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