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Man threatened to kill medical association chief for ‘inciting fear over the coronavirus’

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Thursday arrested a 45-year-old man for allegedly threatening to kill the Japan Medical Association chief, reports TBS News (June 17).

According to police, Tadao Hachisu, of no known occupation, sent an envelope containing a letter and a knife with a 10-centimeter-long blade to the hospital in Sapporo City, Hokkaido Prefecture where Toshio Nakagawa works.

“You are inciting fear over the coronavirus,” he wrote. “I’ll kill you.”

Police believe that the suspect was unhappy with comments made by Nakagawa about infection prevention measures.

Tadao Hachisu (Twitter)

Hachisu lives in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture. He mailed the envelope from a post office in the city.

The arrest is the second for Hachisu. On May 28, police arrested him for sending another envelope containing a knife to Haruo Ozaki, the chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan Medical Association.

“If you do not withdraw from [involvement] in the coronavirus matter, I will definitely kill you,” the suspect wrote in a letter in the envelope.

“I lost all patience for [Ozaki] when he asked citizens to refrain [from activities] in a screaming tone,” Hachisu said after his first arrest.