A police car sits at the entrance to Hosei University’s Tama campus after a woman brandished a hammer inside a classroom, in Machida in the western suburbs of Tokyo on January 10, 2025. Eight people were wounded in a hammer attack at a university in Tokyo on January 10, with a 22-year-old student arrested at the scene, Japanese media said.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Japanese police arrested a student suspected of a hammer attack at a Tokyo university, which local media said left several injured.

The 22-year-old South Korean sociology student was apprehended on the spot for allegedly attacking a male student during class at Hosei University’s Tama campus in Tokyo’s western suburbs on Friday, causing him minor injuries, according to the Tokyo metropolitan police.

Japanese media said seven more students suffered minor injuries as the suspect allegedly hit them in succession. It was not clear whether her actions were premeditated.

Kyodo News agency reported that the suspect told investigators she felt “frustrated” after being ignored and bullied by her classmates and used a hammer she found on campus.

Nearly 150 students were in class that day and one told Kyodo the attacker seemed to swing the hammer aimlessly, hitting those seated in the last row in the classroom, and that everyone ran away. Another said her face was expressionless and she did not seem to be targeting someone in particular, according to the agency.

Police said an investigation was still ongoing without providing further details.

Koreans still sometimes face discrimination in Japan because of the bitter past between the two countries, stemming from Japan’s brutal colonization of the Korean Peninsula, which ended in 1945 with Japan’s defeat in World War II.

Serious crime in Japan is rare but random stabbing and shooting have occurred in recent years.

In December, a junior high school student was stabbed to death and her friend injured while queuing up at a McDonald’s restaurant in the southwestern city of Kitakyushu in an alleged random attack, in which a man was later arrested.

In 2022, three people, including two students on their way to take entrance exams, were stabbed outside of the University of Tokyo. A 17-year-old student was arrested and later convicted of attempted murder.

Police officers are pictured at the scene after a woman brandished a hammer inside a classroom at Hosei University’s Tama campus in Machida in the western suburbs of Tokyo on January 10, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AFP

“Eight people were wounded in a hammer attack at a university in Tokyo on Friday (January 10, 2025), with a 22-year-old student arrested at the scene,” Japanese media said.

All those hurt were conscious, according to public broadcaster NHK, which cited police sources as saying that the afternoon attack took place at Hosei University’s Tama Campus.

NHK and other media outlets said the attacker, a woman sociology student, had swung a hammer during a class.

Several reports said people were seen bleeding from the head and that the woman had said she had pent-up frustration at being ignored.

Police could not immediately confirm details to AFP about a rare instance of violent crime in Japan, which has strict gun control laws.

Live footage broadcast by NHK showed a line of emergency vehicles with flashing lights at the campus in the suburban Machida district of the Japanese capital.

There are occasional stabbings and even shootings in Japan, including the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2022.

Hosei University was founded in 1880 as a law school and has 15 faculties, according to its website.

In December, a junior high school student was stabbed to death and another was wounded at a McDonald’s restaurant in southwestern Japan. A man was later arrested over the attack.

The teens were in line to order at around 8:30 p.m. when the attacker reportedly entered the restaurant in the city of Kitakyushu and stabbed them both.

In January 2022, three people were stabbed outside the prestigious University of Tokyo before nationwide college entrance exams.

“The victims included an 18-year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl and a 72-year-old man,” police said at the time.

Police arrested a 17-year-old, who was detained at the gates of the university after the early-morning attack. He was not taking the exams and was not acquainted with the three victims but told police he “wanted to die after causing an incident as I didn’t do well in my studies”, NHK reported.

The two teenagers did not sustain life-threatening injuries but the 72-year-old was severely wounded, according to local media.

NHK said the university, where 3,700 students were scheduled to take the tests, went ahead with the exams as planned.

Tokyo, Japan:

Eight people were wounded in a hammer attack at a university in Tokyo on Friday, with a 22-year-old student arrested at the scene, Japanese media said.

All those hurt were conscious, according to public broadcaster NHK, which cited police sources as saying that the afternoon attack took place at Hosei University’s Tama Campus.

NHK and other media outlets said the attacker, a woman sociology student, had swung a hammer during a class.

Several reports said people were seen bleeding from the head and that the woman had said she had pent-up frustration at being ignored.

Police could not immediately confirm details to AFP about a rare instance of violent crime in Japan, which has strict gun control laws.

Live footage broadcast by NHK showed a line of emergency vehicles with flashing lights at the campus in the suburban Machida district of the Japanese capital.

There are occasional stabbings and even shootings in Japan, including the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2022.

Hosei University was founded in 1880 as a law school and has 15 faculties, according to its website.

In December, a junior high school student was stabbed to death and another was wounded at a McDonald’s restaurant in southwestern Japan. A man was later arrested over the attack.

The teens were in line to order at around 8:30 pm when the attacker reportedly entered the restaurant in the city of Kitakyushu and stabbed them both.

In January 2022, three people were stabbed outside the prestigious University of Tokyo before nationwide college entrance exams.

The victims included an 18-year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl and a 72-year-old man, police said at the time.

Police arrested a 17-year-old, who was detained at the gates of the university after the early-morning attack.

He was not taking the exams and was not acquainted with the three victims but told police he “wanted to die after causing an incident as I didn’t do well in my studies”, NHK reported.

The two teenagers did not sustain life-threatening injuries but the 72-year-old was severely wounded, according to local media.

NHK said the university, where 3,700 students were scheduled to take the tests, went ahead with the exams as planned.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)