Published: 14:44, January 4, 2024 | Updated: 17:02, January 4, 2024
3 injured in stabbing incident on Tokyo train, woman in custody

Investigators check the crime scene at JR Akihabara Station after a reported slashing incident injuring passengers on a train in Tokyo, early on Jan 4, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

TOKYO - Three men were injured on Wednesday in a stabbing incident and taken to hospital after a woman wielded a knife on a train at Akihabara Station in Tokyo, Japanese police said.

The police received an emergency call at just before 11 pm local time (1400 GMT) saying the woman had inflicted injuries with a knife on the Yamanote loop line, one of the busiest transport routes in the city, a Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson said.

The woman was taken into custody and the condition of the three injured men was unknown, the spokesperson said.

ALSO READ: Japan 'carried out death sentence for 2008 Akihabara mass killer'

Emergency vehicles gather in front of the JR Akihabara Station after a reported slashing incident injuring passengers on a train in Tokyo, early on Jan 4, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

Kyodo news agency reported that none of the victims had suffered life-threatening injuries.

Public broadcaster NHK initially reported that four people had been stabbed.

East Japan Railway Company said the Yamanote loop line was briefly suspended due to "trouble on the train".

READ MORE: Knife-wielding man attacks schoolgirls in Japan, killing 2

Akihabara, traditionally home to retailers of electronics and gadgets, is a major tourism hotspot in Tokyo and has become synonymous with video games, comic books and outlandish fashion.