A knife-wielding man kills a woman at a Tokyo Pokemon shop before taking his own life

TOKYO (AP) — A man brandishing a knife stabbed a woman in a Pokemon store in downtown Tokyo before turning the knife on himself, leaving both dead, Japanese police said Thursday.

Officers rushed to the scene in a popular shopping center after receiving an emergency call reporting a rampage by a knife-wielding man.

Police said the woman, who was stabbed in the neck, was in her 20s and believed to be an employee at the Pokemon store on the second floor of the Sunshine City building, which houses shops and offices.

The attacker then stabbed himself in the neck, Tokyo police said. Both the attacker and the victim were in critical condition when they were taken to hospital and were later pronounced dead, police said.

Police said they are investigating the attack as murder.

The Pokemon Company, in a statement posted on X, said the store, Pokemon Center Mega Tokyo, will be closed until further notice as it prioritizes cooperation with the police investigation and support for the store staff.

“We deeply apologize to our customers for the tremendous worry and inconveniences,” the company said.

A man who was at the Pokemon shop, which was crowded with dozens of other customers including children, told the Asahi that he ran out when he heard a woman screaming for help and noise of shelves crashing down to the floor. When he turned back he saw a store staff with blood stains on his shirt and a man wearing black clothes forcing his way into a sales counter.

Japan’s NHK public television said shoppers fled the area, while employees in nearby stores pulled down the shutters for safety.

Japan has strict gun control laws and violent crimes are still rare, but there have been a number of high-profile knife attacks in recent years.