Chinese tourist who went missing in Japan confirmed dead after body found by the sea
DNA tests prove remains found by fisherman at coastal city in Hokkaido were those of Wei Qiujie
A Chinese primary school teacher who went missing last month while travelling alone in Japan has been confirmed as dead, the Japanese authorities said on Wednesday.
Fishermen found the body of Wei Qiujie, 27, by the sea off Kushiro in Hokkaido in northern Japan on Sunday.
Police in the island’s main city Sapporo said DNA tests confirmed the body was Wei’s, a statement from the Chinese consulate said.
Police said Wei had drowned, according to Japanese media reports
Wei came from Nanping in Fujian province and travelled alone to Hokkaido for a holiday last month.
Her family became alarmed after she failed to return home on the day planned and they contacted the authorities in Japan.
The Chinese consulate said it had been in touch with Wei’s family after confirmation that Wei’s body had been found.
Her younger brother, Wei Lin, told the Southern Metropolis News his father would arrive in Japan on Thursday.
The teacher’s family had appealed online in July for information to help trace her.
She had left her hotel in Sapporo on July 22 for the day, leaving some of her luggage behind, but never returned.
Police later discovered she checked into a hotel at Akan Lake, about 300km from Sapporo, the same night she left Sapporo.
Witnesses said she boarded a tour boat at the lake and was last seen on surveillance camera footage at a convenience store in the nearby coastal city of Kushiro on July 23.
A note was found in her bags at the hotel in Sapporo thanking her family for raising her, but telling them she wanted to make a fresh start, according to Chinese media reports.
Wei’s letter expressed suicidal thoughts, according to the Japanese news outlet All-Nippon News Network.
“I am sorry this is a letter of farewell. I have lived for 27 years but I cannot carry on,” the news agency quoted Wei was writing. “Please don’t be saddened by my departure.”
Wei’s father told the Beijing Youth Daily he could not be certain the letter was written by his daughter.
