The 2019 Tokyo car attack was a

vehicle-ramming attack A vehicle-ramming attack is an assault in which a perpetrator deliberately rams a vehicle into a building, crowd of people, or another vehicle. According to Stratfor Global Intelligence analysts, this attack represents a relatively new militan ...

that occurred on January 1, 2019, in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Suspect Kazuhiro Kusakabe told authorities he intentionally rammed into pedestrians crowded into narrow

Takeshita Street is a pedestrian shopping street lined with fashion boutiques, cafes and restaurants in Harajuku in Tokyo, Japan. Stores on Takeshita Street include major chains such as The Body Shop, McDonald's, and 7-Eleven, but most of the businesses are s ...

Harajuku is a district in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Harajuku is the common name given to a geographic area spreading from Harajuku Station to Omotesando, corresponding on official maps of Shibuya ward as Jingūmae 1 chōme to 4 chōme. In popular refer ...

district as a terrorist attack in retaliation for the execution of

Aum Shinrikyo , formerly , is a Japanese doomsday cult founded by Shoko Asahara in 1987. It carried out the deadly Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995 and was found to have been responsible for the Matsumoto sarin attack the previous year. The group says tha ...

doomsday cult members. The

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

attack left eight injured. A ninth person was also directly injured by the driver. The suspect said he initially planned an arson attack by spreading kerosene with a high-pressure washer at the crowd at the nearby

Meiji Shrine , is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is located at Fushimi-momoyama, south of Kyoto. History Af ...

but found that vehicles were not permitted there. Kusakabe was subsequently convicted of attempted murder in connection with the attack. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Attack

The attack occurred early in the morning, shortly after midnight. A car collided with people on

district,

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

ward, Tokyo. The incident occurred close to

, one of the largest

Shinto shrines A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

in Japan. The street was closed to traffic at the time due to New Year's celebrations. The perpetrator entered the street through a gap in the police barricade near the end facing Meiji-dori street and drove 140 meters the

wrong way Wrong way may refer to: * a traffic sign to warn of wrong-way driving * nickname of Douglas Corrigan (1907–1995), an American aviator who flew east from New York to Ireland instead of west to California in 1938 * nickname of Roy Riegels (1908–1 ...

down the street, hitting eight men aged 19–51 and then crashing into a building. The vehicle used in the attack was a rental

Daihatsu Move , commonly known as Daihatsu, is a Japanese automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest surviving Japanese internal combustion engine manufacturers. The company's headquarters are located in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture. Historically, Daihatsu was ...

with

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

license plates. The perpetrator fled the scene, but 20 or 30 minutes later, he was found by police in nearby

Yoyogi Park is a park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It is located adjacent to Harajuku Station and Meiji Shrine in Yoyogikamizonochō. The park is a popular Tokyo destination, especially on Sundays when it is used as a gathering place for Japanese rock music ...

. A 30-liter tank of

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

was also found inside the vehicle along with a

pressure washer Pressure washing or power washing is the use of high-pressure water spray to remove loose paint, mold, grime, dust, mud, and dirt from surfaces and objects such as buildings, vehicles and concrete surfaces. The volume of a mechanical pressure w ...

. There was no fire reported.

Alleged perpetrator

A 21-year-old man, , was arrested by police on suspicion of attempted murder. Media quoted the man as claiming he had committed a

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

act and deliberately driven his car down the narrow street to protest Japan's system of capital punishment and "in retaliation for execution of Aum cult members". Asahi.com reported that Kusakabe says he staged the attack "in retaliation for the death penalty system." Police told several media outlets that they were investigating a link between Kusakabe and a doomsday cult, formerly known as

which was responsible for the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack. According to Asahi, the suspect said to police that he had prepared for an arson attack "I planned to set fire by spreading kerosene with the high-pressure washer, targeting a crowd at Meiji Shrine". However police suspect he changed his plan after finding that vehicles were not permitted at the shrine due to the high volume of visitors.

Victims

Eight men, aged 19–51, were injured by the car collision, with the 19-year-old remaining in

critical condition Medical state is a term used to describe a hospital patient's health status, or condition. The term is most commonly used in information given to the news media, and is rarely used as a clinical description by physicians. Two aspects of the pati ...

as of January 3, 2019. The ninth victim was a man who was mildly injured when the alleged perpetrator struck him while getting out of his vehicle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tokyo car attack 2019 crimes in Japan 2019 road incidents 2019 in Tokyo 2010s road incidents in Asia Attacks in Asia in 2019 Crime in Tokyo January 2019 crimes in Asia January 2019 events in Japan Road incidents in Japan Vehicular rampage in Asia Violence in Japan Attacks during the New Year celebrations Terrorist incidents in Japan in 2019 Attacks in Japan Massacres in Japan

Attack

Alleged perpetrator

Victims

See also

References