Tokyo CNN –
Two people were killed on Wednesday after a cadet allegedly opened fire on members of his own unit at a military training center in central Japan, the country’s Ground Self-Defense Force (SDF) told CNN.
The shooting happened during a live ammunition drill and several other people were injured, the SDF confirmed to CNN. The cadet was arrested and the motive has yet to be determined, authorities said.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the incident happened around 9 a.m. at a shooting range in Hino City, in central Japan’s Gifu Prefecture.
According to Gifu Naka Police Station, two soldiers, aged 25 and 52, were killed in the incident. Another 25-year-old man from the same garrison was also wounded.
“An incident of this kind should never happen in an organization dealing in arms,” SDF chief of staff Yasunori Morishita said in a televised news conference.
He said a committee of inquiry would be set up to investigate the incident and prevent similar events from happening in the future.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that the suspect was a teenage member of the SDF who allegedly fired an automatic rifle.
Gun violence is extremely rare in Japan, a country of 125 million people. Due to its extremely strict gun control laws, it has one of the lowest gun crime rates in the world.
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However, a number of high-profile violent crimes have recently been reported in the country.
Last month, four people – including two police officers – died in a gunshot and knife attack in the central Japan city of Nakano.
According to the National Police Agency, nine gun incidents occurred in Japan in 2022 – including the killing of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot dead with a homemade gun during a campaign speech.
Six of the nine incidents are believed to have been committed by gangs and other groups. A total of four people were killed and two injured in the nine incidents.