3 teenagers stabbed in Osaka entertainment district, 1 killed

OSAKA – A 17-year-old boy was killed and two other boys injured after they were stabbed in Osaka’s busy Dotonbori shopping area late on Feb 14, police said.

Ryoga Iwasaki, 21, who fled the scene on foot, was arrested on Feb 15 on suspicion of murder. Police said they were informed that he knew the three victims, and they had a dispute shortly before the attack.

Iwasaki is believed to have regularly visited a hangout spot for young people under Dotonbori’s Glico running man sign, one of the city’s most familiar photo backdrops.

“I had no intention to kill,” Iwasaki was quoted as telling the police. He said he wanted to intimidate others with a knife but ended up “stabbing a guy who came toward me in his chest”.

The victim, identified as Ryunosuke Kamada, from Tawaramoto, Nara Prefecture, suffered multiple stab wounds, including to the chest, while the two other 17-year-old boys, both from Osaka Prefecture, sustained upper body injuries, the police said.

The police received an emergency call around 11.55pm on Feb 14 reporting that people had been stabbed on the first floor of a building located in an area with many eateries.

At the time, about seven or eight people were present. Iwasaki was spotted by police officers walking on the street in Osaka’s Naniwa Ward at around 10.15am on Feb 15 and was taken into custody. He was carrying a knife. KYODO NEWS