The 2019 Tokyo car attack was a

vehicle-ramming attack A vehicle-ramming attack, also known as a vehicle as a weapon or VAW attack, is an assault in which a perpetrator deliberately rams a vehicle into a building, people, or another vehicle. According to Stratfor Global Intelligence analysts, th ...

that occurred on January 1, 2019, in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. 21-year-old Kazuhiro Kusakabe told authorities he intentionally rammed into pedestrians crowded on narrow Takeshita Street in the

Harajuku is a district in Shibuya, Tokyo. Harajuku is the common name given to a geographic area spreading from Harajuku Station to Omotesandō, Tokyo, Omotesando, corresponding on official maps of Shibuya, Tokyo, Shibuya ward as Jingūmae 1 Japanese a ...

district as a terrorist attack in retaliation for the execution of

Aum Shinrikyo , better known by their former name , is a Japanese new religions, Japanese new religious movement and doomsday cult founded by Shoko Asahara in 1987. It carried out the deadly Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995 and was found to have been respo ...

doomsday cult members. The

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

attack left eight injured. A ninth person was also directly injured by the driver. Kusakabe said he initially planned an arson attack by spreading kerosene with a high-pressure washer on the crowd at the nearby

Meiji Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is located at Fushimi-ku, Kyoto#Sights, Fushimi-momoyama, south ...

but found that vehicles were not permitted there. Kusakabe was subsequently convicted of attempted murder in connection with the attack. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Attack

The attack occurred shortly after midnight. A car collided with people on Takeshita Street in the

district,

Shibuya is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station. As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,60 ...

ward, Tokyo. The incident occurred close to

, one of the largest

Shinto shrines A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

in Japan. The street was closed to traffic at the time due to New Year's celebrations. The perpetrator entered the street through a gap in the police barricade near the end facing Meiji-dori street and drove 140 meters the

wrong way Wrong way may refer to: * a traffic sign to warn of wrong-way driving * nickname of Douglas Corrigan (1907–1995), an American aviator who flew east from New York to Ireland instead of west to California in 1938 * nickname of Roy Riegels (1908–1 ...

down the street, hitting eight men aged 19–51, and then crashing into a building. The vehicle used in the attack was a rental Daihatsu Move with

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

license plates. The perpetrator fled the scene, but 20 or 30 minutes later, he was found by police in nearby

Yoyogi Park is a park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It is located adjacent to Harajuku Station and Meiji Shrine in Yoyogikamizonochō. The park is a popular Tokyo destination, especially on Sundays when it is used as a gathering place for Japanese rock music ...

. A 30-liter tank of

kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...

was also found inside the vehicle, along with a

pressure washer Pressure washing or power washing is the use of high-pressure water spray to remove loose paint, mold, grime, dust, mud, and dirt from surfaces and objects such as buildings, vehicles and concrete surfaces. The volume of a mechanical pressure w ...

. There was no fire reported.

Perpetrator

A 21-year-old man, of

Neyagawa, Osaka file:Neyagawa-greencity-for-wiki.JPG, 270px, Neyagawa Green City is a Cities of Japan, city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 228,802 in 111,545 households and a population density of 9,300 persons per k ...

, was arrested by police on suspicion of attempted murder. Media quoted the man as claiming he had committed a

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

act and deliberately driven his car down the narrow street to protest against the death penalty and the execution of

members in July 2018. Police told several media outlets that they were investigating a link between Kusakabe and a doomsday cult, formerly known as

, which was responsible for the 1995

Tokyo subway sarin attack The was a Chemical terrorism, chemical domestic terrorism, domestic terrorist attack perpetrated on 20 March 1995, in Tokyo, Japan, by members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult. In five coordinated attacks, the perpetrators released sarin on three line ...

. According to ''

The Asahi Shimbun is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...

'', the suspect told police that he had prepared for an arson attack: "I planned to set fire by spreading kerosene with the high-pressure washer, targeting a crowd at Meiji Shrine." However, police suspect he changed his plan after finding that vehicles were not permitted at the shrine due to the high volume of visitors.

Victims

Eight men, aged 19–51, were injured in the car collision, with the 19-year-old remaining in critical condition as of January 3, 2019. The ninth victim was a man who was mildly injured when Kusakabe struck him while getting out of his vehicle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tokyo car attack, 2019 2019 road incidents in Asia 2019 in Tokyo Terrorist incidents involving vehicular attacks in Asia Transport disasters in Tokyo January 2019 crimes in Asia January 2019 in Japan Road incidents in Japan 2010s vehicle-ramming attacks Attacks during New Year celebrations Terrorist incidents in Japan in 2019 Terrorist incidents in Tokyo

Attack

Perpetrator

Victims

See also

References