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The Yomiuri Shimbun Investigators examine a scene at the University of Tokyo where three people were attacked on Saturday morning. The Common Test for University Admissions was being held at the campus.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
16:37 JST, January 15, 2022
Two high school students and a man in his 70s were attacked by a knife-wielding assailant at an entrance of the University of Tokyo’s main campus in Bunkyo Ward on Saturday morning, according to police reports.
A 72-year-old man was seriously injured and two 18-year-old female and male students are believed to have sustained minor injuries, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
A 17-year-old male high school student from Nagoya was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder.
The attack occurred at about 8:30 a.m. on a street near the main gate of the university’s Faculty of Agriculture, where the Common Test for University Admissions was scheduled to be held.
The teenage victims, both from Chiba Prefecture, were at the campus to sit the exam. The third victim, a Tokyo resident, is believed to be a university staff member.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Investigators examine a scene at the University of Tokyo where three people were attacked on Saturday morning. The Common Test for University Admissions was being held at the campus.
According to a senior MPD official, the assailant slashed the backs of the three victims in an attempt to kill them. Investigative sources said he attacked the two students from behind.
Following the attack, the older victim alerted authorities at a koban police box about 70 meters from the scene. His condition later deteriorated, and he underwent emergency surgery.
The suspect has admitted to the attack. He was quoted by the police as saying, “I definitely stabbed three people.”
According to investigative sources, he also said, “I wasn’t doing well in my studies, so I planned to kill someone and die.”
The Yomiuri Shimbun Investigators examine a scene at the University of Tokyo where three people were attacked on Saturday morning. The Common Test for University Admissions was being held at the campus.
A blood-stained kitchen knife was found nearby. He also told the police that he brought a knife with a 15-centimeter blade from his home.
The suspect also told the police that he had started a fire nearby.
Just before the stabbing, a fire was started near the ticket gate of Todaimae Station on the Tokyo Metro Namboku Line. The scene was cordoned off and the police are investigating the connection.
The exam began at 9:30 a.m. as scheduled at the university’s Hongo campus, including the Yayoi Section where the attack occurred, according to the National Center for University Entrance Examinations, which operates the test.
About 3,700 test-takers were expected to sit exams over two days at the campus.
“We are still working to confirm the details of the incident and will consider security and other measures as soon as we learn more,” said an official of the university’s public relations section.
