Mishima Factory Attack: 14 Injured in Knife Assault at Japan Plant

India

oi-Gaurav Sharma

A
stabbing
rampage
at
a
factory
in
central
Japan
left
at
least
14
people
injured
on
Friday,
authorities
confirmed.
The
incident
happened
at
a
Yokohama
Rubber
Co.
facility
in
Mishima,
a
city
situated
west
of
Tokyo,
where
a
man
armed
with
a
knife
reportedly
attacked
several
workers
and
also
released
an
unknown
liquid.

Emergency
responders
said
they
received
a
call
shortly
before
4:30
pm
local
time
(0730
GMT),
alerting
them
that
“multiple
employees
had
been
stabbed” and
that
a
“spray-type
substance”
was
used
during
the
assault.
Several
ambulances
were
dispatched
to
the
plant
as
part
of
the
emergency
response.

Initial
information
indicated
that
six
of
the
injured
were
transported
to
hospital.
However,
according
to
an
update
carried
by
Kyodo
News,
that
number
later
increased
to
eight.
Local
broadcaster
NHK
added
that
all
victims
were
conscious
when
rescuers
arrived,
though
the
full
extent
of
their
injuries
has
not
yet
been
officially
disclosed.

Police
detained
the
alleged
attacker
on-site
after
he
was
subdued
by
those
present
at
the
time.
Investigators
are
now
working
to
determine
what
motivated
the
assault
and
whether
the
liquid
sprayed
poses
any
chemical
danger.

The
Mishima
factory
where
the
violence
erupted
manufactures
tyres
for
buses
and
trucks,
according
to
details
published
on
the
Yokohama
Rubber
Co.
website.
Emergency
teams
also
cleared
and
secured
the
area
while
dealing
with
the
effects
of
the
unidentified
substance.

Japan
is
widely
regarded
as
one
of
the
safest
countries
in
the
world,
with
extremely
low
rates
of
violent
crime
and
some
of
the
toughest
firearm
regulations.
Nonetheless,
rare
cases
of
mass
violence
often
make
national
headlines.
The
country
continues
to
grapple
with
increased
anxiety
around
public
safety
following
the
2022
assassination
of
former
Prime
Minister
Shinzo
Abe
and
a
2023
shooting-and-stabbing
attack
that
resulted
in
four
deaths.