At least 19 people were killed and dozens wounded in a knife attack at a care home for disabled people in Japan in the early hours of this morning.
The attacker has been identified as 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu, a former employee of the Tsukui Yamayuri En centrein Sagamihara, west of Tokyo. He walked into a nearby police station after the attack, still carrying his blood-stained knives, and admitted to the killings.
Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported that he told police: 'I want to get rid of the disabled from this world.'
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
According to one unnamed city official, Uematsu was involuntarily hospitalised earlier this year after expressing a willingness to kill disabled people if the government approved. He had apparently tried to present a letter about his plans to Japan's parliament.
Uematsu was discharged from hospital after just a few weeks after a doctor decided his condition had improved.
Before Tuesday's knife attack, the deadliest mass killing in post-war Japan was the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway by members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, which claimed 12 lives.
While Japan's strict gun laws have virtually eliminated shooting deaths, the country has a "troubling record of mass casualty knife attacks", says the Daily Telegraph. In 2001, a former janitor killed eight students and wounded 15 more people in a knife attack on an Okinawa school.
-
Japan poised to get first woman prime ministerSpeed Read The ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
US and Japan strike trade dealSpeed Read Trump signed what he's calling the 'largest deal ever made'
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
A manga predicting a natural disaster is affecting tourism to JapanUnder the Radar The 1999 book originally warned of a disaster that would befall Japan in 2011 — a prophecy that came true
