A 13-year-old boy was stabbed outside his home in Tokyo on Wednesday morning in an apparent attempted murder, with the suspect under arrest, investigative sources said.

The junior high school student was taken to a hospital after being stabbed in the chest and collapsing in front of the door to his home in the capital's Ota Ward, police said. He was reported to be conscious, and his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

The suspect, 61-year-old Yasunori Yamashita, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault and has admitted to the allegation.

Police investigators inspect an area believed to be the scene where a junior high school student was stabbed in Tokyo's Ota Ward on the morning of May 10, 2023. (Kyodo)

The police said they are now investigating Yamashita for attempted murder and violation of a law on illegal possession of weapons.

They are also looking into any connection or trouble between the two. The boy's father was quoted by a neighbor as saying he knows the suspect.

The police said the incident took place at about 8:05 a.m. at a residence close to a junior high school and located around 400 meters southwest of JR Kamata Station. The victim was wearing a uniform, and the police believe he was about to head to school at the time of the attack.

A knife believed to have been used in the attack was found near the scene and stained with what appeared to be blood, according to the police.

A woman living in the neighborhood called the police after the student's mother told her, "Please call an ambulance. My child was stabbed." The mother was seen holding her son, asking him if he was OK, according to the woman.

The student's eyes were closed, and he was stretchered to an ambulance, she said.

The student was initially reported to the police as being an elementary school student, but it was later confirmed that he is in the first grade of junior high school.


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