TOKYO • Japanese police are questioning a 26-year-old American man held in custody after a decapitated head was found in an Osaka apartment he was renting, local media reported yesterday.

Police believe the head, found in a suitcase, is likely to belong to a 27-year-old Japanese woman who went missing after visiting another apartment in western Osaka prefecture with the man earlier this month, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Body parts other than the head have not been found.

A local police spokesman declined to confirm details.

The woman was last seen walking with the suspect, who was arrested last week after she was reported missing by her family. He has reportedly denied the allegations.

The woman had told her friends she was visiting Osaka to meet a man she had met via an app.

Local media reported that video footage from a surveillance camera showed her entering the condominium with the man. He was later seen going in and out alone several times, carrying a large bag.

The man, who lives in New York, had arrived as a tourist in Osaka in January, the Asahi Shimbun daily reported.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE