Female Bartender Fatally Stabbed by Customer at Tokyo “Girls Bar”; Suspect in Custody

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:46 JST, October 27, 2024

An 18-year-old female bartender was fatally stabbed in the neck by a male customer at a bar early Sunday morning in Shimbashi, Tokyo.

The victim was rushed to hospital and pronounced dead an hour later due to hemorrhagic shock.

The 49-year-old suspect, a resident of Shibukawa, Gunma Prefecture, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder. He is being interrogated by police on suspicion of murder.

According to the police, the suspect entered the bar at about 11.p.m. on Saturday, and the victim served him.

After the stabbing, other patrons overwhelmed the suspect and later turned him over to the police.

The suspected murder weapon, a fruit knife with blood on its 10-centimeter-blade, was recovered from the scene.

The suspect admitted to the stabbing, saying, “It is correct that I stabbed [her]. I brought the knife.”

The bar — a “girls bar,” where young women work as bartenders — is located about 300 meters from the Shimbashi Station.