Man Arrested for Allegedly Throwing Molotov Cocktail at Condo

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:35 JST, February 25, 2023

OSAKA — The Osaka prefectural police arrested on Friday a 48-year-old man on suspicion of throwing a gasoline bomb onto the balcony of a condominium in Osaka City last year. He was also arrested for allegedly attempting to kill the resident living in the condo.

The suspect, Tsutomu Ishikawa, an unemployed man from Hirano Ward, Osaka City, has already been arrested over other incidents where he allegedly damaged parts of houses near his home. The police are probing into the circumstances as Ishikawa was not personally acquainted with the residents of the damaged houses in every case.

According to the police announcement, Ishikawa lit a Molotov cocktail containing gasoline and threw it onto the condo’s balcony located on the second floor at around 3:40 a.m. on July 7 of last year.

The condo’s curtains and screens were burned, and the fire was extinguished by the 21-year-old resident and his friend who happened to be with him at the time. Neither were injured.

Ishikawa denied the allegation, telling the police, “I have no recollection [of the incident].”