TOKYO (TR) – A 30-year-old man was arrested for attempting to kill the leader of the Party to Protect the People from NHK with a machete on a street in Chiyoda Ward on Friday, police said.
At around 5:10 p.m. Shion Miyanishi allegedly slashed Takashi Tachibana with the machete during a photo shoot in the Kasumigaseki area, reports Nippon Television Network (Mar. 14).
Tachibana was cut in three places on his body, including his left ear and neck, but his injuries are thought to be minor, police said.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of attempted murder, Miyanishi admitted to the allegations. “I swung down the machete I was holding with the intention of killing him,” the suspect was quoted by police.
A Nippon Television reporter was at the scene when Miyanishi was arrested. After his apprehension, he muttered something like, “Ah, I messed up.”
According to police, Miyanishi was lined up for a photograph to be taken with Tachibana. When it was his turn, he suddenly wielded the machete.
“I pulled back, so he probably couldn’t get me too much on the neck, but he hit me in four places: ear, temple, neck and, finally, my tie,” Tachibana, with bandages on his neck and head, was quoted by TV Asahi (Mar. 15).
Tachibana is running in the Chiba gubernatorial election, which will be held on March 16. He was scheduled to give a campaign speech in front of the Ministry of Finance on Friday.
