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TOKYO — A suspected gunman holed up in a Tokyo-area post office with an unconfirmed number of hostages on Tuesday following an apparent shooting at a nearby hospital that left two people injured, according to media reports citing police sources.
According to media reports, two people – a doctor and a patient – suffered non-life-threatening injuries at the hospital and authorities were working to confirm that the injuries were caused by gunfire.
On Tuesday afternoon, police were alerted to shots fired at Toda Chuo General Hospital in Saitama Prefecture, west of Tokyo. A little more than an hour later, according to media reports, the suspect entered a nearby post office, where he has since stayed with two women described as hostages.
Son of a local lawmaker arrested in rare killing that left four people dead in Japan
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mayor Fumihito Sugawara said a man believed to be carrying a handgun opened fire at the hospital and then fled on a motorcycle.
Police were also investigating possible links between the shooting and a fire at an apartment in Toda, believed to be the suspect’s residence.
Police have not made a public statement about the incidents, but local media have cited anonymous security sources.
Gun violence is extremely rare in Japan, where gun owners are subject to rigorous and regular criminal background and mental health screenings with written tests and shooting tests.
In 2022, nine shootings were recorded in the country with around 125 million inhabitants, in which a total of four people died and two were injured. According to the National Police Agency, six of the shootings involved the Yakuza criminal network.
Although violent crime is rare in Japan, there were other high-profile shootings earlier this year.
In May, police arrested the 31-year-old son of a local lawmaker in connection with an attack that left four people dead, police said. The suspect was identified as Masanori Aoki, the son of Nakano Town Assembly Speaker Masamichi Aoki.
In June, an 18-year-old soldier-in-training shot and killed three members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces at a firing range in Gifu, central Japan, police said. The three men – one in his 50s and the other two in their 20s – were taken to a hospital where two of them died.
However, it was the fatal shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a campaign rally last year with a homemade gun that truly shocked the country. The police have now admitted security gaps.
Anyone trying to get a gun in Japan must apply for a permit, take a course on gun safety and laws, and pass a written test. There is a full day of training on safe shooting techniques.
This is a developing story and will be updated. Lee reported from Seoul.