Hammer attacker wounds 8 at Japan university

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Eight people were wounded in a hammer attack at a university in Tokyo on Friday, with a 22-year-old student arrested at the scene, Japanese media said.

All those hurt were conscious, according to public broadcaster NHK, which cited police sources as saying that the afternoon attack took place at Hosei University’s Tama Campus.

NHK and other media outlets said the attacker, a woman sociology student, had swung a hammer during a class.

Several reports said people were seen bleeding from the head and that the woman had said she had pent-up frustration at being ignored.

Police could not immediately confirm details to Agence France-Presse about a rare instance of violent crime in Japan, which has strict gun control laws.

Live footage broadcast by NHK showed a line of emergency vehicles with flashing lights at the campus in the suburban Machida district of the Japanese capital.

Hosei University was founded in 1880 as a law school and has 15 faculties, according to its website.

There are occasional stabbings and even shootings in Japan, including the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2022.

In December, a junior high school student was stabbed to death and another was wounded at a McDonald’s restaurant in southwestern Japan. A man was later arrested over the attack.

The teens were in line to order at around 8:30 p.m. when the attacker reportedly entered the restaurant in the city of Kitakyushu and stabbed them both.