Six bodies of mass killing victims discovered near popular tourist destination in Japan

Five of those found dead are from same family

The town office in Takachiho (Wikimedia Commons)

Six people, including a seven-year-old girl, have been found dead in what is believed to be a mass killing in a remote village in Japan.

The bodies, five of which come from the same family, were located in a farmhouse in Takachiho, Miyazaki, a mountain village of 12,000 people in the south west of the country.

Police began investigating when a family member reported that his calls had gone unanswered for some time.

Authorities found the body of a woman outside the property, while the bodies of three men and two more women were found inside.

A seventh body was discovered in a nearby river after an unidentified man who apparently fled in a car which had been parked at the farmhouse.

It believed he either jumped or fell off a bridge.

Police named three of the victims as Mihoko Iihoshi, the 66-year-old wife of the house’s owner, 72-year-old Yasuo Iihoshi, their seven-year-old granddaughter Yui and a male acquaintance, 44-year-old Fumiaki Matsuoka, according to Japan Today.

The bodies of the remaining three victims have not yet been publicly identified.

Mr Iihoshi’s son, Masahiro, has been missing since the discovery of the bodies and there are suggestions in local media the seventh body found may be his.

The area is near Takachiho valley, a popular tourist destination in southern Japan.

The town is famous for its natural beauty and has profound religious importance.

It is described as "radiating spiritual energy" by one of Japan’s tourism sites.