Crime & Courts

2 Women Injured in Coffee Can Explosion in Tokyo

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Police investigators cover the site near the ticket machine in Nishiarai Station, where a can exploded, in Adachi Ward, Tokyo, on Monday afternoon.

Jiji Press

11:19 JST, May 9, 2023

Tokyo, May 8 (Jiji Press)—Two women in their 20s were injured as liquid splashed from a coffee can that exploded in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward on Monday, local police and firefighters said.

Their injuries were not life-threatening, according to the police and firefighters.

Staff at Tobu Railway Co.’s Nishiarai Station reported to police around 3:55 p.m. (6:55 a.m. GMT) that a ruptured can had been found after the sound of an explosion.

A 49-year-old Chinese man of Adachi Ward who left the can said the explosion was unintentional, adding that he poured detergent into the can at his place of work to use it at home, according to the local police.

The man put the can near a ticket machine at the station, bought a train pass and left without taking the can around 3:50 p.m., according to police and other sources.

The aluminum can with a cap scattered light brown liquid when exploded. One of the two women may have suffered a burn on her face due to a chemical substance.

The police are investigating the liquid.