Meanwhile, the family of the still alive man had filed a missing persons report after he disappeared from his home in Matsudo, Chiba prefecture. The man's wife and two other relatives mistakenly identified the deceased man as their loved one and had his body cremated.

But the missing man showed up very much alive June 6. His wife called police to notify officials they were given the wrong body.

Police matched the cremated remains to another family that also had filed a missing persons report.

"The incident is extremely regrettable. We're determined to prevent a recurrence," said Tomoaki Uehara, a senior official at the Metropolitan Police Department.

This article has been adapted from its original source.