17-Year-Old Killed, 2 Others Injured in Osaka Stabbing

Osaka, Feb. 15 (Jiji Press)–Three 17-year-old boys were attacked in a stabbing in the Dotonbori downtown area in the western Japan city of Osaka around midnight Sunday, with one of them confirmed dead later at a hospital. One of the other two is in critical condition, and the other has sustained serious injuries, according to the Osaka prefectural police department. The prefectural police later arrested Ryoga Iwasaki, 21, a resident of Osaka’s Sumiyoshi Ward, on suspicion of murder. “I did not intend to kill,” the suspect told the police. He added, “I was going to threaten them with a knife, but I stabbed a man who approached me near the chest,” according to the police. The victim was Ryunosuke Kamada, a company employee from Nara Prefecture. He suffered multiple stab wounds to his chest and other areas. Iwasaki is suspected of murdering Kamada by stabbing him in the chest and other areas around 11:55 p.m. Saturday. When the police detained the suspect about 10 hours after the incident, he was reportedly carrying a knife believed to have been used in the attack. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]