from Agence France-Presse

Seven dead in Tokyo stabbing frenzy

TOKYO (AFP) – A man went on a stabbing spree Sunday in a busy Tokyo neighbourhood famed for comic-book subculture, killing at least seven people and leaving around a dozen injured in Japan’s deadliest crime in years.

FARF WITH A BLOODY KNIFE by Daira Busha aka neaphara

The assailant, who later told police he was “tired of living,” drove a truck into a crowd of pedestrians shortly after noon in Tokyo’s bustling Akihabara area before jumping out and stabbing strangers while screaming.

The assailant was identified as Tomohiro Kato, 25, from central Shizuoka prefecture. He first said he was a gangster before retracting his story.

“I came to Akihabara to kill people. It didn’t matter whom I’d kill,” he was quoted by Jiji Press as telling police.

Kato, bespectacled in a beige suit and black-and-white sneakers, was armed with a survival knife and duelled with a police officer who fought back with a baton.

By the time Kato finally dropped his knife with an officer’s gun pointed at him, 17 people lay bloodied on the street of the crowded district, according to fire department and police officials.

The attack fell on the anniversary of the last incident of similar magnitude in Japan — a stabbing frenzy that left eight children dead at an elementary school in 2001.

“I’m afraid this will give a negative image of Akihabara, where people are coming from around the world,” he said.

Akihabara is best known for major electronics stores and in recent years has mushroomed into a haven for Japanese subculture, pulling in tourists from home and abroad interested in comic books and video games.

Akihabara’s attractions range from a museum of Japanese animation to cafes where waitresses dress as maids and video-game characters. It is also a major commuter hub.

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