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Jiji Press NHK Party leader Takashi Tachibana holds his injured left ear in Tokyo on Friday.
Jiji Press
11:42 JST, March 15, 2025
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Takashi Tachibana, leader of controversial political group NHK Party, was attacked with a machete during political activities in Tokyo’s Kasumigaseki central government district Friday.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Tachibana, 57, was injured in his head, neck and left ear, but his life was not in danger.
The Tokyo police arrested the assailant, Shion Miyanishi, 30, a self-proclaimed resident of Suginami Ward in the Japanese capital, on suspicion of attempted murder.
“I swung the machete down because I wanted to kill him,” the suspect was quoted as telling investigators. “I did it because he is the kind of person who drives an assembly member to commit suicide.”
Tachibana was attacked around 5:10 p.m. in front of the industry ministry’s office building after giving a street speech, according to the police.
At the time of the attack, he was taking pictures with his supporters. Miyanishi was standing in line, but when his turn came, he suddenly flicked his weapon down at Tachibana. The police seized a machete with a blade of about 16 centimeters at the scene.
The suspect was subdued by a man in his 30s who was nearby and a man in his 50s who appeared to be a member of Tachibana’s staff. The man in his 30s suffered a cut on his left knee.
Tachibana harshly criticized a former Hyogo prefectural assembly member who sat on the assembly’s panel investigating workplace harassment allegations against Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito.
The former member resigned from the assembly in November last year and died in January this year in an apparent suicide.
Just after 5:30 p.m. Friday, Tachibana said on X, formerly Twitter: “I’m fine. Conscious.” He later posted, “One month to recover completely,” “The criminal is a man I don’t know at all,” and “I am full of anxiety and fear.”
Tachibana is a candidate in the gubernatorial election in Chiba Prefecture to be held Sunday.
