Fourteen people were injured in a stabbing incident at a factory in central Japan, during which an unknown liquid was reportedly sprayed, according to emergency services officials on Friday.
Tomoharu Sugiyama, a firefighting department official in Mishima city, Shizuoka region, told AFP that emergency services were transporting 14 victims to hospitals.
He added that authorities received a call around 4:30 pm (12:30 pm PKT) from a nearby rubber factory reporting that “five or six people had been stabbed” and that a “spray-like liquid” had also been used.
Japanese media, including public broadcaster NHK, reported that police had arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder. The severity of the injuries remains unclear, though NHK noted that all victims were conscious.
Sugiyama stated that at least six of the injured had been taken to a hospital via multiple ambulances. The precise details of the injuries were not confirmed.
The Mishima factory is operated by Yokohama Rubber Co., a company involved in manufacturing tyres for trucks and buses, according to its corporate website.
Violent crime in Japan is relatively rare, with low murder rates and strict gun laws. Nevertheless, occasional stabbing incidents and shootings do occur, such as the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022.
In recent years, a Japanese man was sentenced to death in October for a 2023 shooting and stabbing spree that killed four people, including two police officers. Additionally, a 43-year-old man was charged with attempted murder in May for a knife attack at Tokyo’s Toda-mae metro station.
