TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested five members of right-wing groups over the alleged assault of a man during a rally opposing nuclear power in Chiyoda Ward earlier this year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Nov. 21).
At around 3:45 p.m. on March 11, Tsutomu Horiguchi, 46, Satoshi Sugita, 36, and three other right-wing members allegedly beat the man, 51, including kicking him in the abdomen, as he prepared to set up for the protest in front of the National Diet.
According to police, the suspects were not acquainted with the man. The attack, which extended for about 2 minutes, was stopped by a police officer arriving at the scene.
Police did not reveal whether the suspects admit to the allegations. It is believed the victim got into a dispute of some kind before the attack.
The arrest is not the first for Horiguchi. Two months after the incident at the National Diet, police apprehended him for trespassing onto the grounds of the Russian Embassy in Minato Ward. In gaining access to the embassy, he scaled a 1.5-meter-tall fence, which was damaged.
Upon his first arrest, Horiguchi admitted to intending to trespass, but he denied damaging the fence on purpose.
