KANAGAWA (TR) – A male Maritime Self-Defense Force officer was found bleeding aboard a destroyer with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his stomach, the MSDF said on Saturday, reports TV Asahi (Apr. 8).
The senior officer, aged in his 20s, was found on the floor with a gun sitting nearby at around 5 a.m. on Saturday aboard destroyer Takanami, which is docked at the MSDF’s base in Yokosuka City. He believed to have shot himself.
The officer was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Guns are normally stored inside a locked case, according to the MSDF. The case is under investigation. An incident investigation committee has also been established.
Authorities are also investigating a case in which a male MSDF member hanged himself aboard the destroyer Inazuma earlier this month.
