Dismembered Japanese girl, 6, found in plastic bags

A policeman inspects the site (covered with blue sheets) where the dismembered body of a 6-year-old Japanese girl was found. 

Tokyo - The dismembered body of a 6-year-old Japanese girl has been found in several plastic bags near her home, officials said on Wednesday.

DNA tests confirmed the body parts were those of Mirei Ikuta, who went missing in the western Japan city of Kobe on 11 September, local police said.

Police later arrested Yasuhiro Kimino, 47, an unemployed man who lives near to the girl's home, in connection with the killing, a police spokesperson said.

Japan has one of the world's lowest crime rates and violent crime is relatively rare. It is not uncommon for children as young as 6 to walk home alone from school, even in big cities.

An intensive search was launched after Mirei failed to return home two weeks ago, but there were no leads until a number of foul-smelling plastic bags were uncovered in a bush just 100m from the girl's house on Tuesday.

They contained most of the girl's remains, a police spokesperson told AFP by telephone, adding that some body parts had yet to be found.

Clothes and sandals believed to belong to the girl were also found at the site, he added.

Media reports suggested there were six plastic bags, one of which contained a patient registration card in the suspect's name.