Man arrested for assaulting his wife and two stepchildren

KOFU, Yamanashi — Police in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, have arrested a 57-year-old man on suspicion of assaulting his wife's two children from a previous marriage, and then hitting his wife when she tried to intervene.

Police said Tetsuya Honda, a company employee, is accused of punching and kicking his two stepsons, aged 8 and 9, and hitting his 30-year-old wife at their home at around 7:30 p.m. on Feb 4, TV Asahi reported. The children suffered facial injuries, while Honda’s wife sustained a neck injury.

Honda lives with his wife and three children. An infant was also in the house at the time but was unharmed. Honda’s wife called police after the incident and he was arrested on Tuesday.

Police said Honda has admitted to the charge and quoted him as saying, “I hit the kids to discipline them because they didn't keep their promise to take care of their pet.”

Although the police had not been consulted before, Honda’s wife said that he had previously hit their children several times to discipline them.

© Japan Today