Japanese man dies after partner locked him naked on freezing balcony

TOKYO – A woman in Japan was arrested for allegedly locking her naked partner on their balcony for the night, leading to his death from hypothermia, police said on March 7.

The 54-year-old was arrested on charges of assault and lethal confinement, police in southern Japan’s Nagasaki region said.

In February 2022, the woman “ordered the victim to get out on a balcony while he was naked and confined him there”, local official Masafumi Tanigawa said.

The next day, police rushed to the scene after an emergency call, and the 49-year-old was found “nearly dead” in a room, Mr Tanigawa said, adding he later died of hypothermia.

The temperature that night dropped to a low of 3.7 deg C, the Mainichi daily reported.

The woman had previously attacked her partner, who was her common-law husband, with a knife, leaving him with nose injuries that took two weeks to heal.

The woman is denying the charges, telling police that she had “done nothing”, Mr Tanigawa quoted her as saying.

Police did not say why it has taken so long to formally charge her. AFP

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