A woman was arrested after allegedly slashing and stabbing other passengers with a kitchen knife on a train on Tokyo’s busy Yamanote Circle Line on Wednesday night, leaving four people injured, Tokyo police said.

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The woman, who was in her 20s, attacked random passengers while the train was running between Okachimachi and Akihabara stations in eastern Tokyo, police said, leaving four men injured, three of them seriously, with cuts to their sides, backs and arms, although all of them remained conscious.

Police arrested the young woman on suspicion of attempted murder and confiscated the sharp weapon, after the passengers themselves managed to restrain her.

3 injured in #stabbing incident on #Tokyo train on the Yamanote loop line at #Akihabara Station, woman in custody
Akihabara, traditionally home to retailers of electronics and gadgets, is a major #tourism hotspot in Tokyo pic.twitter.com/AP4JC3f1qI

— Hans Solo (@thandojo) January 4, 2024

Following the attack, passengers on the train pressed the emergency button installed on the train and a station employee alerted the authorities at around 11pm local time, forcing the train operating company to temporarily suspend the service in part of the capital.

According to state broadcaster NHK, the woman reportedly admitted to most of the charges, although her motives are not yet known.

-Thailand News (TN)