Japan pm shot

Two soldiers have been killed and one seriously wounded in an attack by a fellow recruit at a military training range in central Japan. The incident took place at a Japanese Self-Defence Forces facility in the city of Gifu on Wednesday. “During a live-bullet exercise as part of new personnel training, one Self-Defence Forces candidate fired at three personnel,” the Ground Self-Defence Force (GSDF) said in a statement. “The death of another person has been confirmed of the three who were shot at,” the GSDF added later, after earlier announcing one soldier had died and two had been injured. Government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno earlier said the attack happened at about 9.00am [00:00 GMT] and a suspect had been arrested without giving further details. Public broadcaster NHK reported the suspect was a teenage soldier and had fired an automatic weapon. The incident took place at a Self-Defence Force (SDF) shooting range in Gifu, central Japan [Kyodo via Reuters] A local police spokesman who declined to be identified told the AFP news agency the suspect was an 18-year-old candidate recruit who was detained by other soldiers on the spot. The training range is administered by the region’s Camp Moriyama and is a covered facility of more than 65,000 square metres (about 700,000 sq ft). Violent crime and shootings are extremely rare in Japan, where gun ownership is tightly regulated, but a number of high-profile recent incidents have raised concern. In July 2022, former Prime Ministe...

An 18-year-old military recruit has been detained after he shot and killed two fellow soldiers and wounded a third at a training range in central “During a live-bullet exercise as part of new personnel training, one Self-Defense Force candidate fired at three personnel,” the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) said in a statement. The 18-year-old, who joined the military in April, was detained on the spot by other soldiers, said the GSDF chief of staff, Yasunori Morishita. “This kind of incident is absolutely unforgivable for an organisation tasked with handling weapons, and I take it very seriously,” Morishita said. He said the three victims had been tasked with training new recruits, including the attacker, at the range in the city of Gifu. Earlier in the day, a local police spokesperson said the suspect, whose identity was being withheld, had been charged with attempted murder. The cadet “fired a rifle at the victim with the intent to kill”, they said. The national broadcaster NHK reported that one fatality was a 52-year-old supervisor, while the other, and the injured soldier, were both aged 25. The suspect was quoted by NHK as telling investigators that he had aimed at the supervisor, but shot the younger victim first because he was standing in his way. Aerial footage broadcast by the station showed military and civilian personnel gathered around an emergency vehicle and police blocking nearby roads. Some appeared to be investigators, wearing covers over their shoes and ...

Two soldiers have been killed and one seriously wounded in an attack by a fellow recruit at a military training range in central Japan. The incident took place at a Japanese Self-Defence Forces facility in the city of Gifu on Wednesday. “During a live-bullet exercise as part of new personnel training, one Self-Defence Forces candidate fired at three personnel,” the Ground Self-Defence Force (GSDF) said in a statement. “The death of another person has been confirmed of the three who were shot at,” the GSDF added later, after earlier announcing one soldier had died and two had been injured. Government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno earlier said the attack happened at about 9.00am [00:00 GMT] and a suspect had been arrested without giving further details. Public broadcaster NHK reported the suspect was a teenage soldier and had fired an automatic weapon. The incident took place at a Self-Defence Force (SDF) shooting range in Gifu, central Japan [Kyodo via Reuters] A local police spokesman who declined to be identified told the AFP news agency the suspect was an 18-year-old candidate recruit who was detained by other soldiers on the spot. The training range is administered by the region’s Camp Moriyama and is a covered facility of more than 65,000 square metres (about 700,000 sq ft). Violent crime and shootings are extremely rare in Japan, where gun ownership is tightly regulated, but a number of high-profile recent incidents have raised concern. In July 2022, former Prime Ministe...

An 18-year-old military recruit has been detained after he shot and killed two fellow soldiers and wounded a third at a training range in central “During a live-bullet exercise as part of new personnel training, one Self-Defense Force candidate fired at three personnel,” the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) said in a statement. The 18-year-old, who joined the military in April, was detained on the spot by other soldiers, said the GSDF chief of staff, Yasunori Morishita. “This kind of incident is absolutely unforgivable for an organisation tasked with handling weapons, and I take it very seriously,” Morishita said. He said the three victims had been tasked with training new recruits, including the attacker, at the range in the city of Gifu. Earlier in the day, a local police spokesperson said the suspect, whose identity was being withheld, had been charged with attempted murder. The cadet “fired a rifle at the victim with the intent to kill”, they said. The national broadcaster NHK reported that one fatality was a 52-year-old supervisor, while the other, and the injured soldier, were both aged 25. The suspect was quoted by NHK as telling investigators that he had aimed at the supervisor, but shot the younger victim first because he was standing in his way. Aerial footage broadcast by the station showed military and civilian personnel gathered around an emergency vehicle and police blocking nearby roads. Some appeared to be investigators, wearing covers over their shoes and ...