A woman and three children were found stabbed to death in a car in a park in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, on Wednesday morning.

Police said they received a call at 1:30 a.m. from a man who said he had stabbed four people in Mizuishiyama Park, Fuji TV reported. Police rushed to the park and found four bodies in the back seat of the car. They were later identified as Minako Yoshikawa, 43, her 15-year-old son Ayumu and her 13-year-old twins Kayano and Kanon. All four had been stabbed in the neck and were confirmed dead at the scene.

The driver of the car, a man in his 50s, is believed to have been in a relationship with Yoshikawa. He had non-life threatening stab wounds to his stomach and neck but was conscious. Before being taken to hospital, police said he told them he had killed the woman and her children and that he had tried to kill himself. Several blood-stained knives were found in the car.

Police said the man faces four murder charges but will wait until he recovers before questioning him further.

© Japan Today