Two teenage members of Japanese girl group AKB48 were released from hospital yesterday after being attacked by a man wielding a saw at one of the band’s regular meet-the-fans events, managers said.
Rina Kawaei, 19, and Anna Iriyama, 18, both suffered broken bones in their right hands and received cuts on their arms and heads from the 50cm saw at the event in Iwate in northern Japan.
Reports said the attack came after a mini-concert early on Sunday afternoon as fans were lining up to shake hands with performers inside booths.
Photo: AFP
Kawaei and Iriyama were inside the same booth when a man in the line suddenly produced a saw, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily said.
Fans told Japanese media they heard a shriek, apparently from one of the young women, saying: “Stop it!”
Some of the about 100 staff and security guards at the event pounced on the attacker and held him until police arrived, reports said. A member of staff was also hurt in the melee.
One fan described how Kawaei was covered in blood when she was taken away by medics to a waiting ambulance.
Both girls were discharged from hospital yesterday afternoon, a statement from the band’s management said.
A 24-year-old man, identified as unemployed Satoru Umeta, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, police said.
“We have started questioning the suspect this morning to know details, including his motive,” a detective with Iwate prefectural police told reporters.
AKB48 is part talent show, part pop act; a venture in which a pool of more than 100 girls and young women compete for a spot in the limelight with each new catchy, but formulaic, hit.
The group — one of the most successful acts of all time in monetary terms — is built on their accessibility to their legion of fans. They appear at regular events all over the country to shake hands and pose for pictures, as well as on social networking sites.
There was a mixture of anger and anguish among fans after the attack, with some questioning why their idols were not better protected.
“What were the organizers doing?” a 21-year-old student said.
“I pray that the three people will be in good health again soon ... and the two group members will show us soon they are in good shape,” another fan wrote on an Internet forum, who said his name was Yamasan. “I also hope for a strengthening of security checks, such as by introducing a metal detector.”
A 17-year-old who visited the group’s theater in Tokyo’s busy Akihabara District — from which are derived the letters AKB — told the Yomiuri: “I’m very worried about my favorite member, who was hurt. I don’t understand why anyone would do such a thing.”
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