Man arrested after stabbing of 2 people near idol events in southwest Japan

A 30-year-old man was arrested Monday for his role in one of two stabbings a day earlier in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan, that left a woman and a man who was working as an event staffer for Japanese female idol group HKT48 with non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspect, Naoya Yamaguchi, a resident of Itoshima, also in Fukuoka Prefecture, has been accused of attempted murder for the attack on the man and has admitted responsibility. He also has indicated he was involved in the attack on the woman, according to police.

The attacks occurred Sunday afternoon at the Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka stadium and a nearby amusement facility, Boss E.Zo Fukuoka, which houses a theater used by HKT48 for performances. Yamaguchi was a regular attendee at the group’s events, police said.

HKT48 is among the popular AKB48 family of all-girl pop groups and is based in the Hakata area of Fukuoka. Following the incident, members of the group who were in an office attached to the theater evacuated safely, according to the group’s official website.

Sessions of an online meet-and-greet event that were scheduled later in the day were canceled.

The 44-year-old event worker was stabbed in his chest when he cautioned a man, whom the police believe was Yamaguchi, in the elevator hall of a VIP parking area of the stadium.

Yamaguchi, who is unemployed, visited such events five or six times a month, police said. He told investigators he stabbed the man after being asked why he was there, adding that he intended to kill him.

The police said the suspect sprayed the man in the face before stabbing him with a kitchen knife. The man knew Yamaguchi by face and name, and venue staff had regarded him as someone possibly waiting outside for the idols.

The other victim is a 27-year-old woman from Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, who was visiting for a live event held by a male idol group at the stadium.

She suffered a wound to her back, having gone to Boss E.Zo Fukuoka to meet a friend.

According to the police, Yamaguchi called the police at around 2 a.m. Monday from a pay phone in Kasuga, a city adjacent to Fukuoka. He initially called to report he had seen the suspected attacker, but later confessed that he was the one who fled from the scene of the incidents before hanging up.

The police apprehended Yamaguchi later Monday and found him in possession of two knives. They suspect at least one was used in the attacks.

Also on Monday, police said they received an emergency call at around 6:10 p.m. reporting that a person had been stabbed and was bleeding on a street in central Hakata Ward in Fukuoka.

A 37-year-old unemployed man later turned himself in at a nearby police box with a bladed weapon and was arrested on the spot. The victim was a man believed to be the man’s father, in his 70’s and was bleeding but conscious.

The scene was in a busy office district about 350 meters south of JR Hakata Station.