A 30-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after stabbing a 27-year-old woman and a 44-year-old male staffer near idol event venues in Fukuoka. Both victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries and remain conscious, with police investigating the possibility of an indiscriminate attack. The suspect fled the scene but was apprehended the following day and has admitted to the crime.
On December 14, a stabbing incident occurred near Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka in the city. The victims were a 27-year-old female office worker from Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, and a 44-year-old male company employee from Fukuoka who works as staff for the idol group HKT48. The woman was visiting for a live event by a male idol group and had entered the adjacent commercial facility, Boss E.Zo Fukuoka, to meet a friend when she was stabbed in the back. She told police she did not know the attacker, and authorities are probing whether it was a random assault.
The male victim was stabbed in the chest without warning in the elevator hall of the dome's VIP parking area after he cautioned a man—believed to be the suspect—to leave the restricted zone. The suspect, Naoya Yamaguchi, 30, resides in Itoshima, Fukuoka Prefecture. He fled after the attack but was arrested the next day on suspicion of attempted murder. Police recovered a knife believed to be the weapon, and Yamaguchi has admitted responsibility.
The incident took place amid the bustle of idol events in the area. HKT48, a Fukuoka-based female idol group, has a theater in the facility. Both victims were hospitalized but are conscious with injuries not threatening their lives, and police continue to investigate the motive.