Gunman seizes hostages in rare standoff at Tokyo area post office

TOKYO — A suspected gunman is holed up in a post office with an unconfirmed number of hostages on Tuesday in the greater Tokyo area, after an apparent shooting at a nearby hospital where two people were injured, according to media reports citing police sources.

Two people — a doctor and a patient — at the hospital sustained non-life-threatening injuries and authorities were working to confirm that the injuries were caused by gunfire, according to media reports.

On Tuesday afternoon, police were alerted to sounds of gunfire at the Toda Chuo General Hospital in Saitama prefecture, west of Tokyo. Just over an hour later, the suspect entered a nearby post office where he has since remained with two women described as hostages, according to media reports.

Son of local lawmaker arrested in rare killing that left four dead in Japan

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mayor Fumihito Sugawara said a man believed to be carrying a handgun opened fire at the hospital and then fled on a motorcycle.

Police were also investigating potential connections between the shooting and a fire at an apartment in Toda that was believed to be the suspect’s residence.

Police have not publicly issued a statement about the incidents, but local media have cited anonymous security sources.

Gun violence is extremely rare in Japan, which enforces strict and regular criminal background and mental health checks on gun owners, with written and shooting tests.

In 2022, nine shootings, causing a total of four deaths and two injuries, were recorded in the country, which has a population of about 125 million. Six of the shootings involved the yakuza criminal network, according to the National Police Agency.

Although violent crime is rare in Japan, other high-profile shootings occurred earlier this year.

In May, police arrested the 31-year-old son of a local lawmaker in connection with an assault that left four people dead, police said. The suspect was identified as Masanori Aoki, the son of Nakano City assembly speaker Masamichi Aoki.

In June, an 18-year-old soldier-in-training shot three members of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces at a firing range in Gifu, in central Japan, police said. The three men — one in his 50s and the other two in their 20s — were taken to a hospital, where two of them died.

It was the fatal shooting of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe at a campaign event last year with a homemade weapon that truly shocked the country, however. Police have since acknowledged security lapses.

Anyone trying to get a gun in Japan needs to apply for a permit, attend a class on gun safety and laws, and pass a written test. There is a full-day training course on safe shooting techniques.

This is a developing story and will be updated. Lee reported from Seoul.