AMN / TOKYO
A man has been arrested on suspicion of killing a passenger and injuring two in a knife attack on a bullet train. The stabbing occurred last night on board a Shinkansen train travelling from Tokyo to Osaka.
Police said, they apprehended the 22-year old man, after the train made an unscheduled stop at Odawara station following an emergency call. The train was carrying more than 800 passengers at the time of the incident.
Japan is known as one of the world’s safest countries, and violent random attacks are rare.
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The attack occurred on Saturday night, when the train operated by Central Japan Railway was traveling west in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo.
Police say a man with injuries to the neck was transported to hospital but was pronounced dead. Doctors say the injuries to the 2 women are not life-threatening.
The train stopped at Odawara Station, allowing police to go onboard and arrest Ichiro Kojima on suspicion of attempted murder.
The 22-year-old suspect told investigators that he was irritated and picked the targets at random. Officers say it could have been a premeditated act, as the suspect was carrying multiple bladed objects.
The train was carrying about 880 passengers when the attack took place. Most of them changed to another train to continue their trip.
In 2015, a man set himself on fire on a moving bullet train, killing himself and a female passenger. It prompted train operators to install security cameras on trains.
Central Japan Railway says more than 90 percent of its bullet trains are equipped with security cameras.
But the company decided not to conduct baggage checks such as those done for airline customers, citing the large number of passengers.