Investigators enter the site of a fatal fire in downtown Osaka on Dec. 18, 2021. (Kyodo)

       OSAKA (Kyodo) -- Police suspect a 61-year-old male patient of starting a fire at a mental clinic in Osaka that killed 24 people, investigative sources said Saturday.

       The police found the man's registration card for the clinic during a search of a place related to him, the sources said.

       The man, who the sources say is in serious condition, is among 27 people taken to the hospital after the fire Friday raced through the clinic in an eight-story multiple tenant building in the western Japan city.

       On Saturday morning, police and firefighters conducted a joint investigation into the site, located on the fourth floor of the building in Osaka's Kita Ward, to determine the cause of the fire.

       The police are investigating the incident as a case of suspected murder and arson.

       They were also still trying to confirm the identities of the 24 victims.

       The website of the clinic, located near JR Osaka Station, says it provides psychosomatic and psychiatric treatments.

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