At least four people were reportedly left injured after knife attack at a train station in Tokyo
© Getty Images/Ray Kachatorian
A woman went on a stabbing rampage aboard a train which had stopped at Tokyo’s Akihabara station, local media reported on Wednesday. At least four people are believed to have been injured during the incident; the suspect ended up being taken into custody.
The incident was indirectly confirmed by the train operator, the East Japan Railway Company, which stated on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that traffic on the line had been suspended due to “trouble on the train” at the station. Akihabara is located on the Yamanote loop line, one of the most busy public transportation routes in the Japanese capital.
Unverified footage circulating online shows police officers taking the suspect into custody and leading her off the train. It was not immediately clear what exactly prompted the knife attack; the severity of the victims’ injuries remains unknown.
Tokyo metro trains have occasionally become the scene for knifing sprees and other acts of random violence. Last summer, a 26-year-old man was sentenced to 23 years behind bars for a 2021 Halloween night rampage, when he attacked passengers and set a crowded train on fire while dressed as ‘The Joker’, Batman’s arch-nemesis. The attacker claimed the rampage was a part of his murder-suicide plot, as he planned to end up sentenced to death fro his actions.
