2019 Tokyo car attack
| 2019 Tokyo car attack | |
|---|---|
View from the opposite of Takeshita Street, the site of the attack | |
| Location | Takeshita Street, Tokyo, Japan |
| Date | January 1, 2019 |
| Target | Pedestrians |
Attack type | Vehicle-ramming attack, attempted mass murder |
| Weapon | Daihatsu Move |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injured | 9 |
| Perpetrator | Kazuhiro Kusakabe |
| Motive |
|
| Convictions | Attempted murder |
| Sentence | 18 years in prison |
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The 2019 Tokyo car attack was a vehicle-ramming attack that occurred on January 1, 2019, in Tokyo, Japan. 21-year-old Kazuhiro Kusakabe told authorities he intentionally rammed into pedestrians crowded on narrow Takeshita Street in the Harajuku district as a terrorist attack in retaliation for the execution of Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult members. The New Year's Day 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 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.