Suspect Says He Targeted Idol Group Members in Fukuoka Stabbings

Fukuoka, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–A man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in a stabbing incident near the Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka in the southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka told investigators he was targeting members of the idol group HKT48, investigative sources said Friday. The suspect, Naoya Yamaguchi, 30, who is unemployed, has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to kill a 44-year-old male staff member for HKT48, which has a theater within a commercial facility adjacent to the dome. Two people–the staff member and a woman–were wounded in the incident near the dome in Fukuoka’s Chuo Ward. According to the sources, police believe Yamaguchi lay in wait near a staff-only parking area close to the scene, where people frequently take photos later posted by HKT48 members on social media. Fukuoka prefectural police are investigating whether he was waiting for group members to appear. The police said the staff member was stabbed shortly before 5 p.m. on Sunday in an elevator hall of the dome’s parking facility after warning Yamaguchi that unauthorized persons were prohibited from entering the area. The staff member also cautioned him that he would be banned from the premises if he continued to loiter there, noting that Yamaguchi had been seen wandering around the same spot the previous day. Investigators said Yamaguchi was taken into custody early Monday while carrying two knives, one of which had bloodstains. With another knife found in his car parked at the dome, police said he had purchased a total of three knives at a mass-market retailer in Fukuoka Prefecture on Dec. 12. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]