Woman injured in stabbing attack in Tokyo, suspect at large

Tokyo, Dec 29 (IANS) A woman was stabbed on Monday in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, and the suspect remained at large, local media reported.

The woman was conscious and able to respond to questions after the attack, and her condition was stable, TBS reported, citing the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

The incident occurred about 200 meters southwest of JR Takadanobaba Station. The attacker was a slim man who fled the scene, police said, adding they are continuing the search for the suspect and are calling on the public for information, reports Xinhua news agency.

Earlier on December 26, as many as 15 people were injured after a stabbing spree at a factory in Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan, local media reported, quoting authorities.

According to them, an emergency call was received, reporting that five or six people had been stabbed at a Yokohama Rubber factory in Mishima, Japan’s leading Kyodo News Agency reported.

Police have arrested Masaki Oyama (38) on suspicion of attempted murder. Police also received a call that someone was splashing an unspecified liquid around the factory, and are carrying out an investigation into the incident.

The factory makes car tyres and approximately 980 people work there as of 2024, according to its website.

On December 15, police arrested a 30-year-old man for his involvement in one of two stabbings in Japan’s Fukuoka that caused non-life-threatening injuries to a woman and a man who was working at the event for the Japanese female idol group HKT48, local media reported.

The suspect, Naoya Yamaguchi, a resident of Fukuoka Prefecture’s Itoshima, was accused of attempted murder for the attack on the man and has confessed to committing the crime.

He has also indicated his involvement in the attack on the woman, according to police, Kyodo News reported.

The attacks took place on December 14 at a stadium, Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka, and a nearby amusement facility, Boss E.Zo Fukuoka, where HKT48 has its own theatre for performances.

HKT48 is one of the popular AKB48 family of all-girl pop groups and is based in Fukuoka’s Hakata.

One of the victims, an event worker (44), was stabbed in his chest when he cautioned a man whom the police believe was Yamaguchi, while another victim is a 27-year-old woman, who was visiting for a live event at the stadium, and suffered an injury in her back.

int/sd/