Knife Attack at Tokyo’s Akihabara Station
In what has been a dizzying and dismal beginning to 2024 in Japan, it was reported last night, January 3, that at approximately 11pm a woman reported to be in her 20s attacked and slashed four men that were on a train stopped at the busy JR Akihabara Station.
Two out of the four victims were allegedly suffered serious stab wounds in the stomach, back and arms and have been taken to hospital while the attacker, unidentified at the time of writing, was immediately arrested for attempted murder at the scene. According to police investigators, after arrest the young woman stated in an interview, “I wanted to kill people.”
The exact motive for the attack remains unknown. Akihabara, or Electric Town as it’s sometimes known, is a popular tourist spot and JR Akihabara Station is known to be an often busy hub for commuters and shoppers.
Akihabara was also the scene for what is now referred to as the 2008 Akihabara Massacre where killer Tomohiro Kato drove a truck into a busy crossing and then stabbed at least 12 people with a dagger. The incident resulted in seven people being killed and Kato being executed for his crimes in 2022.
East Japan Railway Co. stated that last night’s incident disrupted outbound services on the Yamanote Line, the most popular line in central Tokyo.
