CHIBA (TR) – Police in Chiba City last week arrested a 49-year-old man for attempted murder after he allegedly slashed his neighbor’s neck with a survival knife while the victim was washing his car, reports TV Asahi (Oct. 5).
Mikio Shinohara, who was taken into police custody last week, has admitted to the allegations. “I didn’t care if he died. I intended to kill him, so I slashed around the victim’s neck with a blade,” Shinohara told investigators.
The incident unfolded in a residential area of Wakaba Ward at around 4:30 p.m. on October 1. The 55-year-old victim was washing his vehicle in a parking lot when Shinohara launched the attack, striking him multiple times in the neck and body.
The victim’s wife immediately called emergency services, frantically reporting, “My husband’s neck was cut by our neighbor with a knife.”
The victim was rushed to a hospital suffering from severe blood loss, though authorities stated he was conscious. Investigative sources have since revealed that the weapon used in the brazen daytime assault is believed to be a survival knife.
Ongoing dispute
The attack appears to be the violent climax of an ongoing dispute between the neighbors.
Area residents recalled the chaos of the assault. “I heard a terrifying scream. I thought it was coming from the television,” one neighbor said. Another added, “It sounded like someone yelling in anger. This has happened a few times before.”
Whispers of tension involving Shinohara had already been circulating in the community prior to the attack. “I had heard they had trouble over petty things,” another local resident noted, adding that Shinohara was sometimes known to be “shouting all by himself.”
Police are continuing their investigation into the exact circumstances that led to the attempted murder.
