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7 Slain In Tokyo Truck, Knife Attack

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The New York Times

Published: June 9, 2008

TOKYO - A 25-year-old man who told the police he was tired of life went on a killing rampage in a popular shopping street in central Tokyo on Sunday, plowing his truck into a crowd of pedestrians before stabbing passers-by with a survival knife. Seven people died and 11 were injured.

The attack took place shortly after noon on a street that had been closed to vehicles for the day in Akihabara, the main district for electronics in Tokyo and a magnet for fans of Japanese anime and manga comics.

The assault, which occurred on the seventh anniversary of a mass stabbing at a Japanese elementary school, was the latest in a series of knife attacks that have stoked fears of rising violent crime in Japan.

The police identified the attacker as Tomohiro Kato of Shizuoka, just west of Tokyo.

According to reports in the Japanese news media, Kato told the police that he had grown tired of life, "hated the world," and had gone to Akihabara to kill people.

"Anyone was OK," he told the police, according to the reports.
Japanese television showed the police holding Kato on the ground after the attack.

The police said the attack began around 12:30 p.m., when Kato drove a white, 2-ton rental truck into the street in a zigzag pattern, hitting several people. He then got out of the truck and began yelling and stabbing passers-by, including a police officer.

Japanese television, displaying images captured on cell phones by witnesses, showed bodies scattered in the area. Six men and one woman, ranging in age from 19 to 74, died, the authorities said.

OTHER STABBINGS

Stabbings, once rare in Japan, have become more frequent in recent years.

•In March, one person was stabbed to death and at least seven others were hurt by a man who went on a slashing spree with two knives outside a shopping mall in eastern Japan.

•In January, a 16-year-old boy attacked five people in a shopping area, injuring two.

•On June 8, 2001, a man with a history of mental illness burst into elementary school near Osaka, killing eight children. He was executed in 2004.

Source: The Associated Press

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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