TOKYO, July 23, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Three people were hurt in a knife attack on 
a train in western Japan on Sunday, with police saying they had arrested a 
man for allegedly carrying out the stabbings.

The victims -- a train conductor in his 20s and two male passengers aged in 
their 20s and 70s -- were taken to hospital with non-life threatening 
injuries, Tetsuya Sakagami from a nearby fire department told AFP.

The 37-year-old male suspect was armed with three knives when he was arrested 
at Rinku Town station in the Osaka region, local police told AFP.

He was arrested for attempted murder and has already admitted to carrying out 
the attack on Sunday morning, police said, adding they were still 
investigating the motive.

Violent crime is rare in Japan, which has a low murder rate and some of the 
world's toughest gun laws.

But there are occasional stabbings and even shootings, including the 
assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe last year.

In 2021, a 24-year-old man allegedly stabbed a passenger and started a fire 
on a train in Tokyo on Halloween while wearing an outfit resembling comic 
book villain the Joker.

A verdict in that case is due to be handed down on July 31.