Hammer attack at Tokyo university wounds at least 8: Japanese media

At least eight people were wounded in a hammer attack at a university in Tokyo on Friday, with the suspect apprehended, Japanese media said.

All the wounded people are conscious, according to public broadcaster NHK, which cited police sources as saying that the afternoon attack took place at Hosei University's Tama Campus.

Jiji Press said a woman in her 20s had been arrested. Broadcaster FNN said the assailant appeared to be a student in her 20s, who had been stopped by university staff.

Police could not immediately confirm details to AFP about a rare instance of violent crime in Japan, which has strict gun control laws.

Live footage on NHK showed a line of emergency vehicles with flashing lights at the campus in the suburban Machida district of the Japanese capital.

There are occasional stabbings and sometimes even shootings in Japan, including the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2022.

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

In 2019, two people including a schoolgirl were stabbed to death and more than a dozen wounded in the Japanese city of Kawasaki in a rampage by an attacker who targeted children as they waited for a bus.

The 51-year-old attacker slashed at a group of children before fatally stabbing himself in the neck.