Sat Jan 11 07:21:28 UTC 2025: **Tokyo University Hammer Attack Leaves Eight Injured; Student Arrested**
TOKYO, JAPAN (January 11, 2025) – A 22-year-old South Korean sociology student was arrested Friday after allegedly attacking eight students with a hammer during a class at Hosei University’s Tama campus in Tokyo. According to Tokyo metropolitan police, the suspect caused minor injuries to the students, with one male student sustaining the most serious injury.
Japanese media reports indicate that the suspect, who allegedly found the hammer on campus, told investigators she acted out of frustration due to feelings of being ignored and bullied by her classmates. Witnesses described the attack as seemingly random, with the suspect appearing expressionless and hitting students indiscriminately.
While the investigation is ongoing, the incident has raised concerns given the history of discrimination faced by Koreans in Japan stemming from the country’s past colonization of the Korean Peninsula. While serious crime is rare in Japan, recent years have seen an increase in seemingly random attacks involving knives and other weapons. This incident follows a December stabbing at a McDonald’s restaurant in Kitakyushu and a 2022 stabbing outside the University of Tokyo. Police are continuing their investigation to determine the exact motives behind the attack.
First Piper 