Takahiro Shiraishi chopped up bodies and threw them out with the trash

He contacted victims on Twitter and offered to help them with suicide bids

The 27-year-old has been arrested after a total of nine bodies were found

Tokyo police found two heads inside a cool box at the entrance of the flat

A Japanese man arrested after police found nine dismembered corpses rotting in his house, has confessed to killing all his victims over a two-month spree after contacting them via Twitter, media reports said Wednesday.

Takahiro Shiraishi, 27, has also confessed he 'assaulted' all of his eight female victims, the Fuji TV network said, using a Japanese media euphemism for sexual attacks.

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Prosecutors were now quizzing Shiraishi, who has reportedly admitted hacking the flesh off the bodies and throwing it out with the trash, then sprinkling cat litter over the remains in an effort to cover up the evidence.

Takahiro Shiraishi, 27, has said he to killed all his victims over a two-month spree and 'sexually assaulted' all of his eight female victims

Confessions: Takahiro Shiraishi, 27, has said he to killed all his victims over a two-month spree and 'sexually assaulted' all of his eight female victims

Suspect Takahiro Shiraishi covers his face with his hands as he is transported to the prosecutor's office from a police station in Tokyo

In all, some 240 pieces of bone belonging to nine people, including heads and limbs, were discovered inside coolers and toolboxes at his apartment, the Tokyo Shimbun said.

The grisly case has stunned Japan, which enjoys an extremely low crime rate, and pictures of the nondescript house in a quiet residential area were splashed across the country's front pages.

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'Killing room,' splashed the Nikkan Sports tabloid. 'One murder a week,' wrote the Sports Nippon.

Shiraishi has told police he contacted his prey via Twitter and killed them 'on the day he met' them, according to several media citing police sources.

He moved to the flat in Zama, a southwestern suburb of Tokyo, on August 22 and contacted victims by tweeting that he would help their suicide plans, the Mainichi Shimbun daily reported.

A local resident looks at an apartment (partialy covered with a blue sheet) where Japanese police found nine bodies in Zama, Kanagawa

Policemen gather in front of an apartment where Japanese police found nine bodies with their heads severed and dumped in cooler boxes in Zama, Kanagawa prefecture

Police originally found two heads inside a cool box at the entrance to the apartment before making the grisly discovery of seven more, according to Jiji Press.

According to TBS, Shiraishi told police he 'dumped cut flesh and organs in the trash'.

Shiraishi has reportedly told police that four of his victims were teenagers, four others were around 20 years old and the other was in his or her late 20s. There were eight female victims and one male.

Jiji Press said Shiraishi had told police he chopped up the bodies in a bathroom and a saw was found in his room.

The police spokesman could not immediately confirm these reports.

Police were led to Shiraishi and his secret stash of bodies while investigating the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman.

This woman had earlier tweeted 'I'm looking for someone to die with me', local reports said. Authorities then discovered a link between her and Shiraishi.

Neighbours later said they had noticed a foul smell coming from the flat.

The 27-year-old suspected killer has now been turned over to prosecutors, a policeman told AFP.

This aerial photo shows the apartment (centre) where police found dismembered bodies in coolers in Zama city, southwest of Tokyo, on Tuesday

Grisly find: Police investigators guard an apartment building (centre, blue sheet) as members of the media crowd around in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

For now, he has been charged with improper disposal of one body but police are searching for evidence he killed all nine.

While Japan prides itself on its low crime rate, it is no stranger to high-profile violent crimes.

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Earlier in October, a 32-year-old father was arrested on suspicion of stabbing his daughter to death. He also admitted torching the house in which his wife and four other children were found dead.

In Japan's bloodiest crime for decades, Satoshi Uematsu faces charges of killing 19 people and attempting to kill or injure 24 others at a disability centre near Tokyo in July 2016.

In 1997 a 14-year-old schoolboy decapitated an 11-year-old acquaintance and placed the head at the gates of his school.