Five people
were killed in their homes Monday in a stabbing spree in rural Japan, police
said, in a rare case of major violence in the country.
A 40-year-old neighbor of the
victims was arrested in connection with the attacks, said Keizo Okumoto, deputy
police chief in Sumoto, a small city on an island in western Japan where the
spree occurred.
Okumoto identified the suspect as Tatsuhiko Hirano, an unemployed man. The
motive was unclear, and police have yet to find the weapon used in the attacks.
A man and a woman were found dead
in one house, and another man and two women from a nearby house died after
being taken to a hospital, Okumoto said. The victims ranged in age from 60 to
80 years old, according to media reports.
Violent crime is relatively rare
in Japan, and even more so in most small towns. Sumoto, a city of 44,000 people
on Awaji island, is known for its oranges, onions and Awaji beef. Japanese
television stations showed the victims' homes sitting amid agricultural fields.
"Normally, we get one call a
day, if that," Okumoto said. "And usually it's about a bike theft or
someone getting beaten up."
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