The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Juvenile Division has arrested seven Chinese Nationals, including a 16-year-old male junior high school student from Tokyo, on suspicion of unlawful assembly with weapons and assault, for attacking two boys with knives.
One of the suspects denied the charges, claiming he “only tried to mediate the fight,” while the other six have admitted to the allegations.
According to the arrest warrant, the suspects conspired to gather near a river in Katsushika Ward, on the afternoon of November 17, bringing multiple bladed weapons, including a knife with a blade approximately 16 centimeters long. They then slashed two Chinese boys, aged 14 and 15, inflicting injuries such as cuts to the cheek and elbow that required two weeks to heal.
The seven suspects, aged 15 to 17 at the time, were part of a group of friends. Some members had met the victims at the same Japanese language school, and a dispute had occurred the day before the incident. The victims stated, “We thought we were just going to talk, but we were suddenly attacked.”
The incident came to light when a witness called the police. Surveillance camera footage and videos taken by witnesses helped police identify the seven suspects.
