SDF Officer Arrested for Attempted Murder

Tokyo, Nov. 22 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police arrested Saturday a 43-year-old Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force member belonging to Camp Asaka in Nerima Ward in the capital on suspicion of attempted murder in a case in which a woman was stabbed to suffer serious injuries, investigative sources said. In the incident that happened around 10:25 a.m. on Nov. 16, the woman in her 40s was assaulted when she was in front of a live music club on the first basement level of a commercial building in the Akasaka district of Tokyo’s Minato Ward. The woman, who was scheduled to perform at the club, was waiting for the door of the facility to be unlocked at the time. According to the sources, the male suspect fled to the nearby Aoyama area by bicycle after the incident. Security camera footage showed the man traveling on a bicycle in Nerima Ward later that day. The woman was stabbed deeply in the left side with what appeared to be a knife, sustaining injuries in her internal organs. She also suffered injuries in her left hand. Different security camera footage showed the man walking around areas near the site of the crime from around 8 a.m. and watching people entering and leaving the building. As soon as the woman went down to the basement level, the man followed her into the building and fled the scene about 30 seconds later. The man changed his shoes and put on gloves before the incident, and changed his jacket and shoes while he was on the run, according to investigators. The police therefore believe that the attack was premeditated. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]