Japan petrol deaths - man arrested

Japanese police have arrested a man suspected of murdering six employees of a jewellery business by dousing the shop with petrol and setting it alight.

Five women were burned to death and a sixth died of carbon monoxide poisoning after petrol was spread around the Tsutsumi Jewellery shop in Utsunomiya, 61 miles north of Tokyo, and then set alight.

(Shinozawa) admitted he had spread gasoline...but insisted he did not set it on fire

Police spokesman

Kazuo Shinozawa, 49, was carrying a bag containing jewellery worth an estimated $1.1m when arrested and, according to police had burns on his legs and hands.

A police official said Shinozawa "admitted he had spread gasoline in the store but insisted he did not set it on fire".

Poured petrol

Police suspect he poured petrol on the victims and around the shop and then locked the five victims in a lounge used for staff breaks.

The sixth woman was found in a lavatory.

The dead were identified as 49-year-old shop manageress Kimiko Arai and her five employees aged from 22 to 51.

A witness told police he saw a man with a bag fleeing from the burning shop - another witness said several men were involved.

Police have yet to suggest a motive for the crime, however Kyodo news agency reported Shinozawa had operated a noodle shop until 10 years ago, but it had gone bankrupt.