The body of a girl was found at a residence in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, in the early hours of Tuesday morning after her father reported to police he had strangled her, investigators said.
The police discovered the body of the girl, believed to be around 3 years old, some 40 minutes after the father called them via a public telephone in the city of Tateyama at around 3 a.m. The residence belongs to the father's parents and is usually vacant, they added.
The victim was in a Japanese-style room and her mother and father were present when the police arrived. The residence is located about 4 kilometers north of JR Tateyama Station.
