3 Die in Possible Cake Shop Arson in Central Japan

Gifu, Sept. 6 (Jiji Press)–A fire broke out at a cake shop in the city of Motosu, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, Saturday night, and two bodies were found from the site, according to local authorities. Three other people were sent to hospital, and one of them was confirmed dead. The fire at the confectionery shop, Sunrise, started around 9 p.m. Saturday. A person who was at the scene made an emergency call to police, reporting: “Someone was stabbed. Gasoline was sprayed, and a fire broke out.” The Gifu prefectural police department is investigating details of the incident on suspicion of arson and murder. According to investigative sources, the person who was confirmed dead at the hospital, a 70-year-old male corporate executive from the Gifu city of Mizuho, may have been involved in the incident. The other two people sent to the hospital were Satomi Sono, the 66-year-old manager of the cake shop, and a 65-year-old man from Mizuho. Their conditions are unknown. The police are able to contact the remaining six people and asking them about the situation. The fire was extinguished about three hours later. About 300 square meters of the steel-framed mixed-use building with two stories were burned. There were a total of 11 people at the cake shop, including Sono and acquaintances, at the time. The shop had already ended the day’s operations when the fire broke out. The police are investigating a possibility that some kind of problem occurred during a gathering that was being held at the shop among Sono and her former classmates. The cake shop, which also has an eat-in area, is celebrating its 20th anniversary, according to its website. The site in a residential area is about 1 kilometer southwest of Kitagata Makuwa Station of Tarumi Railway Co. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]