Tokyo police confirm autopsied body that of missing Briton

TOKYO, Feb 10 (AFP) -

Tokyo police investigating the disappearance of British bar hostess Lucie Blackman said Saturday that an autopsy had determined that a dismembered body they discovered the previous day was hers.

Police had earlier said they found the scattered remains in eight pieces early Friday in a cave on a beach at the town of Misaki, at the mouth of Tokyo Bay about 50 kilometres (28 miles) south of the capital.

The spot was located some 200 metres (220 yards) from one of the condomiums owned by Tokyo property developer Joji Obara, 48, who has been charged with six counts of rape.

Obara has not been directly charged in relation to the British woman's disappearance in early July. But a call made at that time by a man claiming that Blackman was undergoing cult training was reportedly traced to his mobile telephone.