8 students recovering after Japan university hammer attack

TOKYO – Eight Tokyo university students

attacked by a hammer-wielding woman

in a classroom are recuperating and none required hospitalisation, their school has said.

A 22-year-old student who identified herself as South Korean was arrested on the spot on Jan 10 on suspicion of assault, a Tokyo police spokesperson said.

Several reports said people were seen bleeding from the head after the attack, which public broadcaster NHK said was motivated by frustration over bullying, citing investigative sources.

The attacker began swinging a hammer in the classroom “all of a sudden”, a student who witnessed the incident told Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi.

“Everyone was panicking. I was so scared at first that my hands were shaking.”

The eight who were hurt all received medical treatment but did not require hospitalisation, Hosei University said in a statement late on Jan 10.

“We will cooperate with police investigations and care for students and faculty shocked by the incident,” the institution said, adding that efforts would be made to “ensure campus safety”.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan, due in part to strict gun control. But there are occasional stabbings and even shootings, including

the assassination

of former premier Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun in 2022.

In December 2024, a junior high school student was stabbed to death and another was wounded at a McDonald’s restaurant in south-western Japan. A man was later arrested over the attack.

In January 2022,

three people were stabbed

outside the prestigious University of Tokyo before nationwide college entrance examinations started. AFP