Mr Kato's relatives told police that he had "confined himself in his room more than 30 years ago and became a living Buddha, " according to a report by Jiji Press.

据时事通讯社报道，加藤的亲戚告诉警方“加藤30年来一直呆在房间内，想成为一名活佛”。

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Vehicles are crushed by a collapsed wall at a carpark in Mito city in Ibaraki prefecture on March 11, 2011 after a massive earthquake rocked Japan. (JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images)

2011年3月11日，强烈地震袭击日本后，水户市茨城县的一处停车场内，汽车被倒塌的墙体碾压。（时事通讯社/法新社/盖蒂图库）

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Mr Kato's relatives told police that he had "confined himself in his room more than 30 years ago and became a living Buddha, " according to a report by Jiji Press.

BBC: Tokyo's 'oldest man' had been dead for 30 years

"I heard after a while on the public address system that a fire had occurred inside the tunnel and the sprinkler system was going to be activated, " he told Jiji Press.

BBC: Japan Sasago tunnel: Collapse traps cars