Nara Prefectural Police on Tuesday arrested seven people ¡ª including a man who described himself as a ¡°messenger of God¡± ¡ª on suspicion of confining a company executive¡¯s teenage son to a relative¡¯s house in Yokohama.

According to police, Yu Murakami, a 46-year-old company employee from Yokohama, has been referring to himself as an ¡°intermediary for messages from God.¡±

Police believe Murakami had Masaru Tatsumi ¡ª a 46-year-old company executive from the city of Yamatotakada, Nara Prefecture ¡ª and Tatsumi¡¯s family under his psychological control.