2 stabbed at entertainment complex in southern Japan, police arrest a 30-year-old suspect

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese police said Monday they arrested a man in connection with the alleged stabbing of two people at an entertainment complex housing the female pop music group HKT48 in the southern city of Fukuoka, leaving them with non-life-threatening injuries.

Fukuoka police said they arrested a 30-year-old suspect for allegedly stabbing a 44-year-old man in the chest at the facility on Sunday with what appeared to be a kitchen knife.

Police said they are investigating the case as possible attempted murder but declined to give further details, including the suspect’s motives, and they also did not comment on the second stabbing.

Kyodo News agency and other Japanese media said the injured man, who worked for the HKT48 theater inside the complex, was stabbed when he saw the suspect in an unauthorized area and told him to leave.

The suspect also allegedly stabbed a 27-year-old woman in the back in an elevator hall at the facility before he fled the scene, media reports said.

HKT48 said the group’s fan event scheduled for Sunday night was canceled.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan, which has strict gun control laws. But in recent years there have been a number of high-profile cases involving knife attacks and home-made explosives.

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