TOKYO: A car ploughed into crowds celebrating New Year's Day early on Tuesday in a suspected terror attack, leaving nine people injured, including one who was unconscious.
Police arrested Kazuhiro Kusakabe, 21, who was driving the rental car with an Osaka license plate, on suspicion of attempted murder.
Investigative sources quoted the man as saying he had perpetrated an act of terrorism "in retaliation for an execution" and "would not make any excuse" for his act. It was not immediately clear whether he was referring to a specific execution or Japan's system of capital punishment.
Kusakabe told the police he had driven from Osaka and intended to kill the pedestrians he hit. There was a tank of kerosene in the rental car, which he said he planned to use to burn the vehicle, the investigative sources said.
Eight people were hit by the car, including a teenage boy who is in critical condition, the police said.
Another man was slightly injured after Kusakabe allegedly struck him after getting out of the car, the police said.
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Kusakabe fled the scene, but the police found him in a nearby park about half an hour later.
The incident happened shortly after midnight local time on Monday in a popular tourist area of Harajuku, near Meiji Shrine, in central Tokyo.
"I can't believe it, this is a place I'm familiar with, so it's very shocking," said Tatsuhiro Yaegashi, a 27-year-old worker in the area.
