About 20 people injured after man sprays unknown substance near ATM in Tokyo mall

A man sprayed a substance inside a luxury shopping complex in central Tokyo, near an ATM on the ground floor. A report of a smell led to injuries to around 20 people. The street in front of the mall in Ginza was blocked and fire trucks were deployed. Shoppers continued entering and leaving through side entrances. Firefighters and officials in hazmat suits removed people from the building into specialized trucks for examination. An NHK report said injuries appeared to be light. A 70-year-old woman reported throat stinging and scratchy numbness after approaching the ATM. Police and fire officials are investigating the cause. Violent crime is relatively rare in Japan, though past attacks include a 1995 sarin subway attack and a 2023 stabbing incident involving a sprayed unspecified liquid.

"A Tokyo police spokesperson said a man sprayed a substance at an ATM on the ground floor, while a local fire department official said around 20 people were injured after a report of a smell. The road in front of the mall located in the touristy and upmarket shopping district of Ginza was blocked off following the incident, and fire trucks lined the street. But shoppers continued to come and go from the building using side entrances."

"An AFP reporter at the scene saw two people on stretchers being put into an ambulance, while firefighters and officials dressed in hazmat suits brought people from the mall into specialised trucks to examine them. The public broadcaster NHK said the injuries appeared to be light. One 70-year-old woman who was at the mall told the broadcaster that her throat started stinging and hurting as she approached the ATM."

"By the time I arrived, the commotion had already started, and I thought there might have been a small fire or something, she said. Once I went into the ATM corner, my throat felt scratchy, almost numb. Police are investigating the cause, a fire department officer at the scene said."

"Violent crime is relatively rare in Japan, which has a low murder rate and some of the world's toughest gun laws. However, there are occasional stabbing attacks and even shootings, including the assassination of the former prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2022. In December last year 14 people were injured in a stabbing attack in a factory in central Japan during which an unspecified liquid was also sprayed."

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