'Dead' husband turns up alive nearly a year after wife given wrong body

A Japanese woman thought her husband had died, but found out nearly a year later he was alive after the man showed up at the family's home, police said. (iStock)

A Japanese woman mourned the death of her husband, whom she believed was found dead in a river, only to be stunned nearly a year later when her spouse returned very much alive at her doorstep.

Tokyo police said a body of a man — initially believed to be in his 40s — was discovered in the Edo River in the city’s Katsushika Ward in June 2017, three days after the unidentified woman reported her husband missing. The wife, along with two relatives, went to police and “positively” identified the man as a family member.

The family cremated the body.

The “dead” man, however, suddenly showed up at the family’s home in May.

It’s unclear where the Japanese woman’s husband has been for the last 11 months.

Tokyo police on Wednesday admitted there was a mix-up between two missing men — one who was in his 30s and another in his 40s. Police believe the body belonged with the man in his 30s and had drowned in the river.

Authorities have since confirmed the man’s identity to the correct person after matching fingerprints filed in a missing person report, Japanese news site The Mainichi reported.

"The incident is extremely regrettable. We're determined to prevent a recurrence," a senior officer told the site.

The body might have been misidentified because both men were about the same height and age, Tokyo's metropolitan police said. Bodies that are deemed unrelated to crime are usually returned to the families only after their visual inspections and without additional tests.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.