CNA published May 25, 2023: 3 dead in shooting and stabbing incident in Japan. Three people, including two police officers, are dead following a shooting and stabbing incident in Japan. The suspect has not been detained yet. The incident took place in the city of Nakano in Nagano Prefecture in central Japan.
CNA published May 26, 2023: Son of local politician detained in Japan's Nagano after four killed in shooting, stabbing attack.
A standoff that lasted 12 hours in Japan has come to an end. The police have taken the 31-year-old son of the head of Nakano's city council under custody after he left four people dead. The police responded to reports on late Thursday of a man dressed in camouflage stabbing a woman and firing a hunting rifle. The son then barricaded himself in his father's house with the gun and shot at police. Two police officers were shot and killed. The woman who was stabbed was pronounced dead after she arrived at a hospital. Another elderly woman also died after an apparent knife attack.
CNN
written by Emiko Jozuka, Junko Ogura, Xiaofei Xu and Rhea Mogul, CNN
Friday May 26, 2023
The son of a local Japanese government official is in police custody after allegedly going on a shooting and stabbing rampage in the central city of Nakano on Thursday, a rare crime in a country with tough gun laws and a low murder rate.
Masanori Aoki, a 31-year-old farmer, was arrested on suspicion of killing a 61-year-old police officer by shooting him in the chest with what appeared to be a hunting rifle, police in Nakano, a city in the country’s Nagano prefecture, told CNN.
Two other people died Thursday, a woman in her 40s and another police officer age 46. And on Friday, a 70-year-old woman found outside the house where the suspect had barricaded himself in was pronounced dead, police said.
About 100 investigators are working “to clarify the full extent of this extremely heinous incident,” Nagano police chief Iwao Koyama told reporters Friday.
Koyama said the incident had caused “great anxiety” in Japan, a country of 125 million where gun violence is extremely rare. It has one of the world’s lowest rates of gun crimes due to its extremely strict gun control laws.
In 2018, only nine deaths were reported from firearms – compared with 39,740 the same year in the United States, according to data compiled by the Sydney School of Public Health at the University of Sydney.
How the alleged attack unfolded
Police were called to the scene late Thursday afternoon with reports that a man had stabbed a woman with a 30-centimeter long “survival” knife, according to Koyama.
As the drama unfolded, a witness to the attack told Japanese broadcaster NHK that he saw a woman run toward him, pleading for help while being pursued by a masked man in camouflage.
In a statement posted to social media, Nakano officials urged citizens to stay indoors, while authorities designated an “evacuation zone” with a radius of 300 meters around the scene of the incident.
About 60 people were evacuated to a middle school gymnasium, where local officials were providing shelter, blankets, food, and drinks.
Koyama told reporters Friday the suspect stabbed a woman and then a man. He said the suspect then shot and killed two police officers with what looked like a hunting rifle before barricading himself inside a home belonging to Nakano City Council Chairman Masamichi Aoki, thought to be his father.
Koyama said Aoki lived with his parents and his aunt, and that Aoki’s 57-year-old mother and 60-year-old aunt escaped the family home and were rescued by police.
Low gun violence rate
Gun ownership is rare in Japan, where strict gun laws make it almost impossible to obtain a rifle.
However, NHK reported Friday that Aoki had a license since 2015 to possess four hunting rifles, including shotguns and air guns.
According to the government, hunters and target shooters may own shotguns and airguns under “strictly circumscribed conditions.”
To qualify for a firearm license, potential buyers must attend an all-day class, pass a written test and a shooting-range test with an accuracy of at least 95%. They also must undergo a mental health evaluation and drug tests, as well as a rigorous background check – including a review of their criminal record, personal debt, involvement in organized crime and relationships with family and friends.
After obtaining a gun, the owner must register their weapon with police and provide details of where their gun and ammunition is stored, in separate, locked compartments. The gun must be inspected by the police once a year, and gun owners must retake the class and sit an exam every three years to renew their license.
However, Japan was rocked by a shooting last year that reverberated around the world.
Former prime minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated during a campaign speech in Nara in July, sending shock waves through the country and the international community.
In 2022, nine incidents involving firearms took place in Japan including Abe’s assassination, one down from the previous year, according to the National Police Agency.
Of the nine incidents, six are believed to have been committed by gangs and other groups. In total, four people were killed and two injured in the nine incidents.
🚨👇 WHILE LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE INCIDENT ABOVE,
I CAME ACROSS THIS OTHER SHOOTING INCIDENT THAT IS BARELY GETTING ANY COVERAGE.
I COULDN'T FIND ANY VIDEO NEWS REPORTING.
I THINK THE SHOOTING DEATH DATA IS BOGUS CONSIDERING THE GANG SITUATION THERE. THIS IS MY GUT FEELING. 👇🚨
Japan Times
written by Staff
Saturday May 27, 2023
A man was shot dead in the city of Machida in western Tokyo on Friday evening, with two suspected attackers on the run, police sources said.
The man, in his 50s and believed to be linked to a gang, was apparently shot at least three times, including in the abdomen and neck. He was confirmed dead after being taken to a hospital.
Two men fled the crime scene in a white car. Two shell casings were found at the scene.
Police received an emergency call at around 7:40 p.m. that a person had been shot at a restaurant in a complex near Machida Station.
According to the sources, the attackers opened fire on the victim, who was in the restaurant. They also shot the victim after he ran out of the restaurant.
The man was found lying about 20 meters away from the restaurant. No one else was injured.
The Metropolitan Police Department is searching for the attackers, who are said to be middle-aged with short hair, with one of them wearing a gray jacket, black pants and sunglasses.
While gun violence is extremely rare in Japan, the shooting comes just a day after four people were killed, including two police officers, in a shooting and stabbing in Nakano, Nagano Prefecture.
🚨👇 ANOTHER NEWS SOURCE OF GANG SHOOTING 👇🚨
Japan Today
written by Staff
Saturday May 27, 2023
A man in his 50s was fatally shot in a coffee shop in Machida, Tokyo, on Friday night, in what police believe was a gang-related shooting. The shooter fled with an accomplice but later turned himself in at a police station.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 7:30 p.m. in a coffee shop in a building beside JR Machida Station, Kyodo News reported. Witnesses said the victim was seated at a table when one man came into the cafe and shot him twice. As the wounded victim ran out of the coffee shop, he was shot a third time.
The shooter got into a white car driven by a male accomplice and they drove away.
Police said the victim was shot in the neck and abdomen. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
At around 11 p.m., Makoto Sasaki, 58, of no fixed occupation, turned himself in at a police station in Isesaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, saying he had been involved in the Machida shooting. He also had a gun with him.
Police said Sasaki’s accomplice is still at large.
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