Preserved bodies of babies discovered at Tokyo house

March 13, 2018

Tokyo- Dead bodies apparently of unborn babies preserved in formalin have been found under the floor of a private house in Tokyo, police sources said Monday.

The Metropolitan Police Department does not view this as a criminal case. Obstetric and gynecological specialists used to live in the vacant house on sale.

Seven such bodies were found in six of the 16 bottles found under the floor of a lavatory and elsewhere in the house, the sources said.

Of the remaining 10 bottles, three were empty. It was not immediately clear what was inside the other seven bottles.

The bodies are believed to be those of babies that were aborted or died during birth, judging from their sizes, the sources said.

Termite exterminators discovered the bodies. A woman in her 30s who decided to buy the house asked them to check the house to prepare for renovation. The women reported to police on Sunday.

The house, built some 80 years ago, was vacant from three years ago after being rented for some 20 years.

The house used to be managed by a couple with a grandfather and a great-grandmother who were obstetric and gynecological doctors, the sources said. Both have already died.

A neighbor in her 70s said the doctors ran a hospital near the house. She said bottles containing what looked like preserved bodies of babies were carried into the house when the hospital was shut about 70 years ago, according to the sources. Jiji Press