CHIBA - Japanese police have found an apparent video showing the abuse of Mia Kurihara, a 10-year-old girl who died at her home in Chiba Prefecture last month, investigative sources have said, local media reported.

In the high-profile case of possible abuse, Chiba police have arrested the girl's father, Yuichiro, and her mother, Nagisa, on suspicion of inflicting bodily injuries on their daughter.

According to Jiji Press, the police are analysing the video, suspecting that the girl had been abused regularly.

According to the sources, the footage included images of the elementary school fourth-grader suffering violence from a person believed to be her father, begging for forgiveness and becoming limp.

The video, which was stored in a digital medium owned by the father, is thought to have been taken in January by him or the mother using a smartphone at their home in Noda, Chiba prefecture.

According to the Noda city government and a child consultation centre in Kashiwa, also in the prefecture, Mia had been absent from school since Jan 7, when school resumed after the winter holidays.

The mother has told police that she prohibited Mia from going out for about a month as the father ordered her to keep the girl at home.

The video may have been taken during the period, the sources said.